Backstabbers
by Shewolfbeme
Summary: Naruto has never lived a very pretty life. What if he takes it in a different way? How will he cope with the struggles of living in a world full of backstabbers? Long story, OOC, cursing. DO NOT OWN COVER IMAGE.
1. Childhood in the academy

**Backstabbers**

**Summary: Naruto has never lived a very pretty life. What if he takes it in a different way? How will he cope with the struggles of living in a world full of backstabbers?**

**Warnings/disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. That, my friend, belongs to the wonderful Masashi Kishimoto. And, just by the by, it's not going to contain Shonen-ai. WILL HAVE CURSING.**

**Author's note: SO, yeaaahh….. I wanted to create a story, with a little more angst to the picture. This will be VERY OOC. Depending on your personal preference, this may or may not be Sakura bashing. Naruto will be rude and selfish, and sasuke, well you should already know. So, I hope you enjoy the story, it is going to be pretty long (Haha, that what's she said…) so be prepared for more chapters! Reviews are awesome, by the by.**

**As for inspiration to this story, it think it would be "Living Behind A mask" By Synica. One of my favorite Naruto stories out there, check it out!**

**Ciao Ciao!**

* * *

_**Kyuubi Speaking**_

**Naruto thinking**

"Someone speaking"

_Someone thinking_

'_FlashBack'_

(Author's input)

_***Sakura's Inner Conscience***_

* * *

**Ch. 1: Childhood in the Academy**

**My name is Uzamaki Naruto, you know. **

"Oh, look… it's that demon brat again.."

"Yeah, why he's here again?"

"I don't want my child going to the academy with a delinquent."

"Isn't he the Kyuu-?"

"Shh! We can't talk about that remember?"

"Don't go near him! He's a monster."

**Why do they look at me like that? Those eyes… the sheer emotion of anguish and hate, all smoldered into one. They are so cold… the stares give me so much chills. Why do they look at me like that?**

Naruto would come to his empty home and cry his eyes out every night. Even in his solemn home, he still felt those eyes talking him. Engulfing him. He never felt more suffocated than when he felt them watch him, stare at him with those cold eyes.

No one knew how he felt. Each day he would continuously reach out for a friend—not even a friend. Someone who he can talk to—no not even that. Someone who he can actually look in the eye without bursting into tears.

But there was no one who understood him. Who else knew how it felt to be alone? Sure, he never really 'lost' anyone, he was alone from the beginning. His parents encased the 'Kyuubi' inside of him, shortly before both of their deaths. So… now the village considers him to be a blood thirsty demon, and the parents convinced their kids to think the same.

What? Naruto knew this? How can that be?

**I've known this for years. I'm not as stupid as I let on, you know. It wasn't that hard to figure out everyone hated me; heck, even Iruka-sensei would give me that look every now and again. Granted, it would be on instinct, but he would do it. You would be disgusted with how much I cried during my childhood. I wouldn't cry in public though. I would leave, far away and just let it out. **

**Most of the time, I would sit by a large lake and watch my reflection. But, and you can't tell anyone I said this, but I would watch Uchiha Sasuke try and use his Gōkakyū no Jutsu with his father. I was really impressed with him, you know. Seriously, he is so strong, that guy. I look up to him in a way, but I'll never say that out-loud.**

**And then there's Haruno Sakura. Heh, yeah, I used to really like her. It was because she was so pretty and she seemed sweet, and I'd thought she would be different from everyone else. Nah. She's the same. Just another Sasuke-obsessed girl. I fell out of love with her quickly. I saw through that smart brain of hers. She's not that smart, you know.. Well, academically, yeah she is. But, being just plain vanilla smart? No way, she's as ditzy as Shikamaru after one of his naps.**

**Oh yeah, and Hyuuga Hinata? Probably the closest thing I will ever consider a friend. It's pretty obvious to see she likes me, and while I don't like her the same, I do respect her. I wish we could hang out more, but I know I'll only bring danger to her. From the beginning, the Hyuuga clan has had a huge grudge against me. I don't want to bring her into this.**

**A few years past, and I had grown to learn how to speak with Kyuubi. It's true, he really is blood-thirsty, but we've… bonded I guess you could say. It was also around this time I stopped crying. After a while, you have two choices in life; spend your life in sorrow and wallow in self-pity, or brush it off and hold your middle finger up to everyone. I chose the ladder. **

**I'm considered the school punk, and I'm despised by everyone, but I don't mind. It's not like I'm not used to it or anything like that. I have the lowest scores in the entire academy. But would you believe that I'm smarter than I let on? I'm similar to Shikamaru in a way. Terrible grades, good mind. **

**I can't trust everyone, you know. I never will. They've hurt me before, but I won't let them hurt me again. My name is Uzamaki Naruto, and I won't fall beneath them, you know!**

* * *

_I hate him. I hate him so much. _

Uchiha Sasuke sat coolly in his seat, ignoring the hoard of girls that surrounded him. He had his hands intertwined with eachother in front of his face, gazing off in front of him. His expression was emotionless and he gave off a calm aura around him. But on the inside, he was fuming.

Today was the anniversary of the slaughter of the Uchiha clan. He was one of the main survivors. Not just a survivor, but a front row witness. Courtesy of his older sibling.

The only reason he was here in the academy, wasn't to become a great and noble ninja. No, no, that wasn't it at all. He just wanted to get strong. Strong enough to defeat him. Whom he hated.

Uchiha Itachi. His older brother.

_He killed them. He killed them all. Everyone but me, saying that my life wasn't worth killing. He told me to pursue him, surpass him… and to hate him with all of what's left of my heart. _

_I'm going to avenge my clan. Every single one of them. And on my own. No one can help me. No one understands my pain, my reasons, my life. There's not one person who understands. Not the teachers, not the hokage, not that bloody Sakura, not Ino, no one but me._

That's why he can't let anyone stand in his way. He hopes that when he passes the exam, that he will be able to be on a one-man group, because worthless teammates will just slow him down. He needed power, and to get stronger, and he'll do anything to get that.

* * *

Sakura squealed happily when she saw her Sasuke walk into the classroom. She jumped up, shoving and pushing other rushing fangirls away from the boy. She was going to ask him if he would like to eat lunch together, when her shoulder was yanked back by a certain blonde.

"Where are you going, you bill-board slut!?" Ino exclaimed, one hand perched on her hip. Most of the class exclaimed,covering their mouths.

"Oooh! Ino just sweared!"

"She just said the S word!"

"INO CALLED SAKURA A SLUT!"

Sakura glared at the shorted haired girl, crossing her arms. "Your own to talk, you blonde bimbo!" The class continued to howl at the words the 8 year olds were yelling, and Iruka came stomping at them.

"GIRLS!" He yelled, scaring them both. "Not only have you disrupted class with your innapropriate language, you have terrible ears. I told you to sit down already. Do we need to have another conference with your parents?" The two girls quietly echanged their simultaneous 'No's and awkwardly sat down on opposite sides of the classrooms. Iruka sighed while shaking his head. The children's mouths these days were even worse than the adults.

_***No one treats me like I should be. Everyone always made fun of me for my above averagely sized forehead, my parents are always getting on my back for everything, and Sasuke still hasn't noticed me yet!***_

_***Why can't I just have one friend who will treat me equally and respectfully? Why can't I have good parents that will actually try to help me? Why can't the love of my life see me for once? Why. Not?***_

_***I don't do anything wrong. I pay attention in class, having the highest score in the whole grade, I watch out for my weight. I wash my hair, make myself look cute every day, and what do I get?***_

_***A dork like Naruto after me. Seriously, that boy is head over heels for me. Always approaching me, trying to talk to me. Gross. My mom told me to stay away from him. One of the only correct things she's been teaching me all her life. He's a just some kid who tries to act cool and all that, but he's not. He's just selfish and bratty. He's all alone.***_

_***I heard that he doesn't even have parents. He's so lucky! I would kill to have his life. Not having to worry about responsibilities, or being grounded for no reason, seriously! And yet, he's always acting all sad, like he's got some horrible life or something. He doesn't. He should know a good thing when he sees it.***_

_***Why can't he go for Ino or something? They would go together perfectly. Dork and Stupid. Delinquent and Bitch. Worthless and Useless. Seems perfectly fine to me.***_

Sakura smiled to herself, opening her notebook to the correct page, twirling her pencil in her hand happily. She gazed out of the window, dreaming about a certain Uchiha.

* * *

**Yaaaaay! First chapter…**

**And it sucks! **

**Haha... that OOC. Naruto lived a life of being shunned from everyone everywhere. Sasuke lived a great life until his brother slaughtered his family, and Sakura has just lived that perfect life. She's always had everything given to her, she's never had to work for it. Even when she was bullied, she was given that headband. Given that path to success. Really, I don't blame Sakura for being spoiled. She doesn't know how hard it could be.**

**I also will be making Sakura more useful, and actually try with her character. Yeah, that's what I'm doing. You may also noticed that I gave Naruto his mother's catchphrase "you know". I thought it fit better than, BELIEVE IT HERP DERP, or DATEBOYOYOUOUOUDHJCSBMKJ *dies***

**Well, reviews are awesome! So… do that…. Please?**

**Ciao Ciao!**


	2. Academy Exams and a new group

**Backstabbers**

* * *

_**Kyuubi Speaking**_

**Naruto thinking**

"Someone speaking**"**

_Someone thinking_

'_**FlashBack'**_

**(Author's input)**

*****_**Sakura's inner conscience***_

* * *

**Ch. 2: Academy exam and a new squad.**

* * *

**-Academy/ 12 years old—**

* * *

"N-Naruto-kun?" A shy voice whimpered behind the blonde who turned at the voice. It was Hinata, who was playing with her fingers, looking away shyly. "U-um… do your best…" She whispered, looking up into his blue eyes. He looked her dead in those cream colored eyes, trying to find any joke or deception in her words. Finding none, he flashed his famous smile.

"I will, you know." He grinned. Hinata blushed slightly, before nodding. She turned to leave, but then turned back. "U-um… also…" Naruto nodded to her, spinning on his heel and walking in through the doors of the academy. She smiled and whispered the rest of the sentence, "… Blow them away…"

"Okay, as you all know, we will take various ranges of tests. The first tests will be precision with shuriken and weapons, the second will be matching herbs and various wild-life medical plants, the third will be the Henge test, and then the last and final test; the bunshin test." Iruka explained slowly, making sure to write this down on the chalkboard so everyone understands. One kid raised his hand.

"Hold up, I know the first, third, and fourth, but what the heck is the 'herb' test?! You never said that!" The student argued. Constant mumbles and conversations insued throughout the room, agreeing with the kid. Iruka sighed.

"This was short noticed. It won't affect you becoming a ninja. The one's that really count on you becoming a ninja is the Henge Test and the Bunshin Test, the other two is simply a bonus that will increase your score and look about you as a ninja." The students nodded their heads and went on about their morning as Iruka explained some more about the test. Naruto sat in the back, half listening to his rants. Suddenly, his sharp ears picked up two girls on the other side of the room talking about him. Another effect to having the nine tailed fox was to have an acute sense of smell and hearing.

He heard the two girls talking, and he rolled his eyes at them. They were talking about him. About how he was going to fail every single one of these tests. He chuckled slightly, thinking about how wrong they were. You see, Naruto is not good at precision. In fact, you could say that that's his worst area when it came to ninja skills. But, with the Henge? Pshh, he had this in. The whole 'dobe' thing was just a font so that people would think that he was just a brat who was in a class way out of his league. Now the Bunshin? No, he sucked, but he had a trick up his sleave. Hey, ninjas see through deception, right?

A half an hour passed, and the test began for Naruto. He started with the Precision test. He threw a handful of shuriken at the targets, and none of them hit the mark. That was what the class was expecting. The stars were carved into edge of the target, indicating that he had failed that test. He mentally laughed at himself along with the Kyuubi.

_**Wow, I knew you were bad, kit, but not that bad.**_

**Shut it, Kyuubi. Hehe, I'll pass the other three.**

_**Hehe… Oi. Ino and some Haku chick. Talking about you over there.**_

Naruto looked over and indeed, they were giggling and pointing at him. They taunted him, sticking out their tongues and mouthing curse words at him. Naruto winked at the girls and held up a middle finger to them, earning glares.

Sasuke of course got a perfect score. Sakura and Ino barely passed, and most kids got a passing grade. However, only Sasuke was the one who hit the bulls-eye on all of them.

Next was the Herb test. It was a written test that each student took in separate rooms of the academy. Naruto sat down in the lone seat of the room, and took the pencil that was given to him. He looked up and saw that it was a different teacher than Iruka, and that it was an older woman staring him down. She was giving him the stare. Those disapproving eyes. He lifted his head, looking at her down his nose. The woman scowled at the act and slapped the paper down on his desk. He sneered and began.

It was so simple. Just explaining the main types of medical herbs, and what kinds are poisonous and what are not. He was done in less than 5 minutes. He stood up and turned in his paper. The lady eyed him up and down.

"You really should at least read the questions first before answering, Uzamaki." Naruto scoffed, shoving his hands into the pockets of his orange jacket.

"Do you really have that little faith in me?" He asked, acting like he was actually hurt. Before he could get a reply, he continued. "I'm smarter than you think, you know. So just do your job and grade it, lady." He snorted, earning a hard glare from the teacher.

"You have no right to talk to me like that, Uzamaki. Now if you are finished, leave and proceed to finish your exam, or do I have to inform your teacher about this?" She threatened like she was actually scaring Naruto, but he just looked at her through slanted eyes. He then twirled around, waving her off.

"I'm so scared. See ya never." With that, Naruto strutted out of the door. Mentally laughing when he heard the lady grumble to herself.

Then came the Henge Test. Everyone took it in different rooms, so Naruto was displeased when he couldn't show off his skills, but that was fine. When he came into the room, 2 out of the 3 people's mood changed from content to dark. The only one who didn't was Iruka, who just smiled at Naruto.

The two teachers watched on, practically day-dreaming, waiting for Naruto to screw up this test. He rolled his eyes and glanced at Iruka, who just gave a sad-smile. It was as if he was trying to say, 'Just bare through it, I believe in you.'

Yes. That was right. Aside from Hinata, Iruka was one of the very few people he actually trusted. He would even say that he was the closest thing he had to a father.

Naruto got in his stance, eyes sliding half-way low. He slurred lazily the word, Henge, and there stood were three perfectly copied clones of Iruka, the 2nd teacher, and the 3rd teacher. They were solid perfect copies. The three men in the room practically choked on their own spit, even Iruka himself. Naruto smirked to himself, observing the work he did in pride.

"O-okay then…" Iruka stuttered. He knew Naruto exceeded more than he had let on, but he expected him to at least pull his Sexy jutsu, or some sort of joke. Not to mention, he even went out of his way to do all three of the men, not just him. He was impressed. "Time for Bunshin."

Naruto mentally groaned, along with the Kyuubi who laughed evilly at him. But Naruto knew something that would blow them away. There was a hint of mischief in his eyes, and Iruka saw that. What did Naruto plan to do?

Naruto assembled the position, and had an evil grin on his face. The other teachers started to stand, as if to command him to stop, but they were blown away by the next scene.

"Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" He blurted out, with a 'poof'. Suddenly, the room was FILLED with clones of Naruto. Literally, about 50 or more blonde jumpsuit wearing Narutos were in the average sized the room. All of the judges were blown away, especially Iruka. That was a jonin level jutsu… and Naruto just completed it perfectly.

Iruka honestly wanted to treat Naruto out to some ramen right now, because he didn't expect all this. Naruto really was much better than he showed the crowd. If he hadn't know any better, he'd even say he was on par with the great Sasuke.

* * *

"Did you hear? Did Naruto pass or not?"

"Don't you know that he can't pass? He's too stupid!"

"Yeah, and not to mention, he would just get in the way."

"Look, he's over there all alone. No doubt, he failed."

"It's that demon brat, did he fail?"

"Probably."

Naruto sat on the small swing, daydreaming to himself. He was talking to Kyuubi.

_**Congrats on becoming a ninja. You certainly accomplished so much in such a short time, brilliant.**_

**I love your sarcasm, Kyuubi. It makes me feel all warm inside.**

_**Listen, kit, I have something important to tell you. Now that you've officially become an ace ninja, this is no time for slacking. In the future, because of me, you will have even more trouble ahead of you. Physically and mentally.**_

**Will that include you rebelling against me and destroying Konoha again?**

_**Kit, you're not funny. And to answer your question, I don't even know my next move right now. I'm still planning on what I'm going to do with you.**_

**Really? Cause I'm planning on controlling you, and keeping you tied up inside me.**

_**Well, to the victor comes the spoils.**_

Naruto was interrupted when he saw Iruka heading towards him. He stared down at him, before smiling.

"I'm impressed." He said. Naruto grinned happily.

"Shocked you with the last test, didn't I?" Naruto chuckled at him, but Iruka wasn't laughing.

"Yes, about that…" He began, scratching his neck. Naruto groaned, knowing he was going to get a lecture, but Iruka waved his hands in front of him. "No, no… I'm not going to punish you or anything, if anything I'm more proud than ashamed."

Naruto's ears perked. Did he really say that?

"I want to speak with you. How about over ramen?"

* * *

"Listen Naruto, I just want to know where in the world you learned that jutsu from." Iruka asked as they were handed their bowls. Naruto instantly began chowing down on the delicious food, finishing the entire bowl within a few minutes. He happily asked for more before turning to his teacher.

"Why do you want to know?" Naruto asked, starting to get defensive.

"It's not a bad thing. It's just that… that jutsu is extremely advanced. It's jonin level." He explained. Naruto thought for a moment, thinking for an answer. "Did _it _teach you?"

Naruto's eyes widened before he sighed. He truly was a father, always knowing when something is up with his son.

"His name is Kyuubi, sensei." He muttered, looking at his fresh bowl that was just given to him. "No, he just told me that there was a more advanced version of the Bunshin. Then, I just did my research." Iruka stared at him for a minute.

"Research. Yeah, it still escapes me how you manage to get your information. Well, at least you two are bonding together." Naruto rolled his eyes while he picked at his food.

**Because we certainly are the best of friends, right Kyuubi?**

_**Shut it, kit.**_

"Bonding, is that what they call it?" He sneered. Iruka shook his head, chuckling a little. He suddenly got serious.

"If I give you this information, will you promise me to act nice?" Iruka asked. Naruto raised a brow, slurping a piece of noodle.

"Depends on what it is." He replied and Iruka shook his head.

"No. You have to promise me." Realizing that he had no choice, he nodded his head. Iruka waited a moment, then proceeded. "On Monday, you will be put in a three man squad. Your team mates will be Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto took a minute to take all this in, before clenching his chop sticks, almost breaking them in half.

"Of all the girls… that stupid Sakura? And that Uchiha? You really must hate me." Naruto put a finger in his mouth and pretended to throw up. Iruka sighed.

"Trust me. All of your scores throughout the year added up, and these are the people. But, just try Naruto. Give them a chance." Naruto opened his mouth to yell, when Iruka put a hand over his mouth. "Just bite your tongue and _try _to play nice. Maybe if you do that, they'll warm up to you."

Naruto snorted before chugging the rest of his ramen down. He glanced back at his teacher, and realized he was serious. Finally, he gave in.

"Fine. I'll play nice, but if they start some BS with me, I'm not going to roll over." Naruto complied. Iruka just nodded. He knew that Naruto was really stretching his boundaries when he said that. The only people he was actually 'nice' to were Hinata, him, Kyuubi, and the hokage's grandson Konohamaru. And the last one was a stretch.

"I know it's going to be hard from here on out; with you, with your team, with Kyuubi, with the village…" Iruka began, standing up. Naruto glanced back. "… But whatever happens, and this will sound corny, follow your heart. That will lead you to where you want to be. Don't listen to other kids or people, follow you. And somewhere, on your path, you will find that friend. Someone who understands and accepts you for you. But for now, just bear with it. Bite your tongue. At least… try to make peace with your comrades."

Naruto took all this in, and let it out with a long exhale. He didn't expect the chefs of the shop to join in too.

"Listen to him, Naruto. We also wish you the best. Your pretty strong emotionally, and no doubt that your journey ahead will try to break you, inside and out." The old man said, taking up the empty bowls. Suddenly a woman appeared next to him.

"You've got a big heart. And this world has big obstacles. You have to really do what _you _think is best. And really watch out for your comrades, no matter how much they shut you out. You might find yourself with a new pair of friends." The words were inspiring to Naruto, and he thought them over. He shoved them to the back of his mind to think about later, but for now he just stood up and let his teacher pay for the food.

* * *

**Monday, Academy**

"Huh? What are you doing here Naruto? This is for graduates, not drop outs." Shikamaru told Naruto as he walked into the classroom. Naruto frowned at him, before adjusting his forehead protector at him.

"I didn't fail, smart ass. I graduated the exam just like everyone else, you know." He spat at him, before sitting back down. He side glanced the person who sat next to him. Uchiha Sasuke.

Since Iruka asked him to play nice, so he went out of his way to sit next to his new 'comrade'. The thought made him sigh. He suddenly felt determined. He was going to play it cool. He wasn't going to curse them out, or try any pranks on them. He was going. To. Play. Nice.

Well, he was until a certain pink haired Kunoichi came in with a certain blonde one, trying to squeeze their scrawny bodies into the doorway. When they came in, they both screamed "I'm first!". Panting heavily, they both looked at each other.

"Are you blind, Ino-pig? I was clearly first." Sakura started in between breathes. Ino snickered.

"Obviously my foot was way ahead of yours, billboard brow." Ino snapped back. Before Ino could continue, Sakura shoved passed her and started walking towards Naruto.

**Well, here goes nothing.**

"Good morning, Sakura-" Naruto began before he was yanked by the collar, and shoved to the ground.

"MOVE IT!" Sakura exclaimed, before putting on an innocent look for Sasuke. "U-um… G-good morning, Sasuke-kun." Sasuke slowly turned his head, staring at her blankly. "M-mind if I sit next to you?"

"Hey, stay away from him you bitch!" Ino growled, grabbing her arm. Naruto rubbed his head and glared at the girls.

**Bitch is an understatement.**

"I was here first!" Sakura whined. Soon, a hoard of girls were joining in on the conversation. Naruto quickly scrambled to his feet so he wouldn't get trampled. Standing up, he just shook his head in disgust. Sasuke's expression wasn't too different from Naruto's either.

_Clueless, _Sasuke thought to himself, looking away from the fangirls.

* * *

"So that's Uchiha Sasuke? The only survivor?" Kakashi asked curiously, looking through the orb.

"Yes. One of the more promising students at the academy. He had a perfect score on everything except the Medical/Herb test." Asuma explained. The hokage nodded, staring down at the reflection showing the entire classroom.

"Hmmm…" Kakashi hummed, looking at the blonde kid scowling at the girls. "Uzamaki Naruto…"

* * *

"As of today, you are all ninjas." Iruka informed, smiling at the group of youngsters. He glanced over at Naruto, who somehow managed to get his seat back and sit next to both Sakura and Sasuke. He let out a sigh of relief. _Good. He's holding back. _"To get here you all have gone through a lot of hard ships and troubles, but that's nothing now. What you will be dealing with will be harder than anything you've ever done before. Now, you are Genin. First level ninjas. You all will be put into three man squads, all lead by a jonin, and elite ninja."

_A three man squad? _Two girls thought simultaneously. Ino smirked at Sakura.

"Well, someone has to be on Sasuke's team, I wonder who." She teased. Sakura turned in her seat, and glared.

"I wonder the same." Sakura replied through gritted teeth. _***SHANNARO! Who does this two-faced pig think she is!? I'm going to be the one who gets picked with Sasuke! ***_

_Ugh, groups of three. That'll only slow me down. _Sasuke thought as he stared directly in front of him. Naruto rested his head on his palm. He knew who it would be, so he stopped listening and simply waited for class to be dismissed.

"Squad 7: Uzamaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura…" Iruka started. Sakura lifted her head, then dropped it.

"I'm doomed." She grumbled. Naruto shot a glare at her, but before he could open his mouth, Iruka gave him a look that said 'don't do it'. He closed it, and just rested his chin on the desk. "…And Uchiha Sasuke." With this, Sakura jumped up and cheered, while Naruto muttered 'I'm doomed.'

"Hmmph… just don't get in my way." Sasuke said quietly, looking away. Naruto bit his lip hard, almost drawing blood. He knew Iruka was giving him the look and just shook it off.

* * *

After explaining to the others about their teammates, they were all aloud to go and eat lunch with their groups… well, SUPPOSED to. Sakura only seemed to have interests in eating with Sasuke, and Sasuke seemed to want to be alone. Sakura ended up alone, looking around dumbly for her knight in shining armor. Naruto sighed.

**Once again, here goes nothing.**

"Oi, Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out, waving at her. He faked his usual goofy grin. "I thought that since we are new to each other, that we can have lunch together." It was worth a try. The result? Sakura's expression turned from content to annoyed.

"Why would I have lunch with _you? _How could that thought even cross your mind?" She spat coldly. Naruto's eye twitched. **Play it cool, play it cool.**

"Well, I just thought that it would be a good way to start becoming… friends." Naruto had to force the word out. Sakura stared him down for a minute, then replied.

"Naruto, you're annoying." She then spun on her heel, walking away. She frequently called out 'Sasuke-kun!', and kept looking for him. Naruto stared off at her, before muttering to himself.

"That bitch."


	3. Introductions and the pass or fail test

**Backstabbers**

* * *

**Ch. 3: Introductions and the Pass or fail test**

* * *

**Academy classroom **

Naruto sat alone in the room, arms crossed, waiting for the others to meet up. He was not having a good day. Not only did that Sakura blew him off, but he was stuck with Hatake Kakashi. The number one copycat ninja and the number one most fashionably late jonin in the village. Great.

Naruto honestly didn't have anything against the Uchiha, if anything, he actually respected him. When Naruto respects someone, they MUST be special. So far, the only one he has respect for is Iruka, and now he's gone. The main thing is that most people compare Naruto to Sasuke, saying how they're like 'polar opposites'. That's the main thing that gets on his nerves. That also led to a small tension between the two. It was more of a silent rivalry that needed no words to convey either of their emotion. They could just sense it.

Speak of the devil. He just stepped through the doors, hands in pocket. He strutted in, and looked at Naruto. Naruto nodded towards him. Sasuke didn't say anything. He just gave a small grunt before pulling up a seat next to him. He formed his usual pose, elbows propped with his hands intertwined and his face resting lightly on them. He side glance the blonde, and gave a small 'hmmph'. Naruto could read that perfectly; Sakura was coming. And sure enough, she was. She walked in the classroom, and nearly squealed when she saw Sasuke.

"Oh! Sasuke-kun!" She walked over to him. She faked an innocent mask again, and it made Naruto want to hurl. "I was looking all over for you." Sasuke barely acknowledged her, just giving a small grunt. Naruto snorted loudly, making Sakura glare at him. "What's your problem!? We haven't even been in the same room for over a minute and already you're trying to pick a fight with me!" She exclaimed, pointing at him.

Naruto made his fingers represent a gun, and pretended to shoot himself in the head. Sakura flicked her hair and sat right next to Sasuke.

As Naruto expected, the great Kakashi took long than he promised. A few hours later was when he finally decided to show up. He opened the door, and felt something fall onto his head. A poof of chalk ascended, and he watched as the small cloud faded around him. He groaned, looking at the three. Sakura took the initiative and pointed directly at Naruto, who was staring at him through lazy eyes.

"That's what you get for coming late." Naruto grumbled, crossing his arms. Kakashi picked up the eraser, and put his hand on his chin.

"Hmm… let's see… my first impression on you guys…" Kakashi started, closing his eyes. But Naruto just stood up and left the room.

"Be on the roof if ya need me." He replied, exiting the room. Kakashi looked back at the genin. _Yup, this is definitely the moody class prankster I was told so much about. _He looked back at the two remaining kids.

"You're all idiots."

* * *

"Alright, why don't you introduce yourselves?" Kakashi asked once they were settled on the roof. Sakura raised a brow.

"What do you mean? What do you want us to say?" She asked. Kakashi shrugged.

"Things you like, things you dislike. Dreams for the future, your hobbies. Things like that." He explained. "I'll go first then. My name is Hatake kakashi. As for the rest of the information, I don't feel like giving it to you." The whole group practically face palmed at the answer. "Now, why don't you begin, mr. prankster?" He pointed to Naruto.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "My name is Uzamaki Naruto. Things I like… I like lots of stuff." Kakashi and the rest looked up. "As for things I dislike…. I don't like many things. And dreams for the future… I don't really feel like telling you that. As for my hobbies… I got a few."

"Well, in short, all he told us was his name." Sakura complained, frowning at the orange one. Kakashi raised a brow. _Hooh-boy… I feel like I'm looking into a mirror here. _

"Okay, next."

"I'm Haruno Sakura. As for what I like…" She glanced as Sasuke, then smirked. "… My hobbies?" She giggled, still gesturing towards Sasuke. "And my dreams for the future?" She squeeled into her hands, blushing madly.

_Yeah, that's just about does it for her._

"But…" She started before her expression turned dark. "I hate Naruto." There was an awkward silence before Naruto turned around.

"Oi, Sakura-chan… you have something on your face." Sakura began rubbing her face.

"Where?" She asked. Naruto smirked.

"Everywhere."

"What is it?"

"Ugliness." The two glared daggers at each other, before Kakashi cleared his throat.

_Well, that's different. According to the Hokage, Naruto was thought to have a crush on this girl… I guess not. _Kakashi thought.

"And the last one?" Kakashi interrupted. Sasuke looked up, not changing his expression.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I hate many things, but I don't particularly like anything." He stated bluntly. Sakura frowned at this. "My dream…. Is not a dream… because I WILL make it a reality. I will avenge my clan… and kill a certain someone…" He continued. Then silence. No one dared utter a word.

**I wonder who this certain someone could be. Certainly, not Uchiha Itachi, the slayer of the Uchiha clan. No, that can't be possible.**

_**Ah, Uchiha Sasuke. I've heard about him. And his brother of his...**_

_Sasuke's so hot! He's an ass, but hot none-the-less! _Sakura thought.

_Can't say I didn't expect that. _Kakashi thought. He nodded to the group.

"Good. You all are unique and have your own goals and dreams. Starting tomorrow morning, we start our first mission." Naruto perked up.

"Exactly what mission are we going to have, sensei?" He asked. Kakashi looked at him.

"It's a task that we all will do together." He answered, and Naruto deadpanned.

"No shit, Sherlock. What are we all doing?" He replied bluntly.

"It's a survival exercise." Kakashi answered, ignoring the curses. Sakura raised a brow.

"A survival exercise? I thought we were going on real missions, not doing more practice." She ranted. "We did this stuff at the academy, why are we doing it again?"

"This will not be like your previous training at the academy." Kakashi stretched and yawned.

"So, what kind of training is it?" She questioned further, but was halted by a series of chuckles from Kakashi.

"You three will not like this answer, I'm just saying." He explained, still chuckling. Sakura turned to the two boys for answers, but Sasuke wasn't paying attention to her, and Naruto was watching Kakashi lazily.

"Let me just take a guess here." Naruto started, silencing Kakashi. "Out of the 27 graduates who came here, only 9 will actually be accepted as genin? And the others will be sent back to the academy, right? And the chances of us failing are at least 66%, right?"

The whole group stayed quiet, watching Naruto. Kakashi stared intently, arms crossed over his vest. _The unpredictable, prankster dobe with an angsty background, and can be killer sharp when he wants to be. Iruka and the hokage warned me about this, and I'm starting to get it._

"Shut up, Naruto! That's stupid-!" Sakura began, but Kakashi interrupted.

"Actually, he's correct. In short, this exercise is a make it or break it/pass-fail test." Sakura shut her mouth, thinking over the new piece of information. She looked at Naruto, then Kakashi, then Sasuke. She waited for someone to speak, but there was an awkward feel in the air.

"So…" Sasuke broke the silence. "You're the one who decides if we become genin or not, is that correct?" Kakashi nodded silently, showing his back to the three.

"That's all. You're dismissed. Oh, and by the way… don't eat breakfast tomorrow, unless you want to puke."

* * *

Kakashi was purposely late the next morning. Well, mostly. He was planning on making the few kids wait a little before showing up, and also he was so immerged into his book that he completely lost track of time. While walking to the training grounds, he went over the students' carefully. Iruka and the hokage went over with him about the three. He started with Sakura.

_A spoiled, dolled up, lovesick puppy who practically follows the back of Sasuke's heel. She has a distinct hatred for Naruto, and the feelings are mutual on both ends. Despite this, she is probably the smartest one of the group. She was ranked the highest in academics, and she seems to be most fluent in chakra control. _

_She seems to like to put on a mask when she's around Sasuke. According to Iruka, Sakura always liked to put on an innocent look when around a teacher, or someone she wants something from. But when faced with someone she dislikes, she changes he attitude completely. She turns bratty and selfish, and starts cursing them out._

_She also has tension between her and her parents. She complains about them all the time to her friends, and disrespects them constantly. Girls her age are more interested in boys, than in training, it seems. But Iruka shocked me when he showed me her year round results, and saw that she really was the highest when it came to chakra, or anything that had to do with academics. She could probably ace any test I throw at her, and anything that involves chakra control, she could probably master in an instant._

_She will be a great asset to the group, but she will be terrible at respecting and protecting her comrades. Especially Naruto. She will have trouble teaming up with them, especially when she puts herself above Naruto, and below Sasuke. This might be difficult to work with._

_Speaking of Naruto, he's probably the punk of the group. As the container for the nine-tailed fox, he was neglected and shunned all his life. He's a smart ass, that's for sure, and has a snapping attitude. He doesn't seem to have much respect for Sakura, either. That being said, he's really smart when he wants to be. He ranked the lowest when it came to academics, but when the medical test came along, he got a perfect score. Nearly everyone failed that test, even Sasuke. This seems promising._

_He also knew about the survival exam. How did he know about that? Iruka did say that Naruto managed to get his hands on information easily. As for his abilities, chakra control is definitely NOT him. However, he's a quick learner, and has keen sense to see through deception easily. He's a great liar, and he has the power of the nine-tailed fox on his side. I've also learned that he's been able to communicate with the demon easily, and even knows how to summon some of its chakra. He's great at strategizing, and has been known to cheat on many test during his time at the academy._

_I also know that he's a total social reject, and he has trusting issues. According to Iruka, he was suicidal when he was younger, and now he just acts out. He likes to play pranks on people he has absolutely no respect for, me for an example, and will curse openly at any time he feels like it. He has no respect for the hokage, or the past hokages. He can be bribed with ramen, Iruka also said._

_This kid will be especially hard to work with. He won't work with the others, especially Sakura if she keeps clawing his eyes out. As for Sasuke, there seems to be a small tension between them, but nothing too major._

_And as for Sasuke, he's so hung up over the death of his clan. He's completely dismissed himself from everyone. It was true when he said he didn't particularly like anything. He has his mind set on one thing, and that one thing is what I'm afraid of. Revenge. He wants to take vengeance for his clan, and he will do anything to get it. _

_He wants to get stronger. Stronger than everyone else. Thus, he has grown to have a sense of superiority. He always looks at himself over everyone else. Even with his comrades, he still sees them as just obstacles in his pathway to revenge. So much so, that I think that he would actually abandon his comrades in order save his own hide, just because they got in his way._

_He won't be able to cope with the others at this rate. If he keeps feeling so high and mighty towards the two, they'll start to catch on. Sure, Sakura probably won't mind, but Naruto will definitely take that as a threat. Naruto seems to be the type of person who doesn't want to be underestimated. Sasuke's the same. But the way they deal and cope with this are different entirely. Most likely, they will end up clashing if the fuse is set off at the wrong time._

_I got a whole lot of work to do. Three people who don't know squat on what the word 'teamwork' is, all mixed into a single group._

* * *

"You're late again." Sakura growled, pointing at her sensei as he trudged towards the group.

"Well, a black cat crossed my path-." He began but was cut off by falling into a small pit. It wasn't anything special. In fact, Kakashi was surprised he didn't see that coming. But as he was lying in the dirt, he knew who set this trap. He quickly jumped out of the trap, and looked at Naruto. Naruto was staring blankly at him, arms crossed. A fox like grin made its way onto his face.

"Woops, forgot to mention that I put that there. Sorry, sensei." Naruto sneered sarcastically. Sakura laughed at Kakashi on the inside, but on the outside she shook her head at the trickster.

Kakashi walked over to a small clock and clicked it. "Here we go, it's set for noon." He started, before jingling two bells in front of them. "Here's your assignment; you just have to take these bells from me. If you can't take them by noon, then you go without lunch."

"HUH?" Sakura exclaimed, hearing her stomach growl. Kakashi smiled.

"You will be tied to those posts and forced to watch as I eat my lunch in front of you."

_So that's why.. _Sakura thought to herself, holding her growling stomach.

_He told us to skip breakfast… to make it harder on us. _Sasuke finished. Naruto stood there, confident as ever. Kakashi blinked.

_Ah, so he's a rebel, too? I can see that he did not skip breakfast like I told him to… _Kakashi pondered to himself. Sakura suddenly gasped, coming to a realization.

"Wait a minute, there are only two bells, and there are three of us!" She said, and Kakashi nodded.

"Correct. Only two of you will get the bells, and the other will be sent back to the academy." As Kakashi thought, a deep tension filled the air for the students. He knew that they had already missed the point of what he was trying to tell them. "You may use any weapons you'd like. If you are not prepared to kill me, then you will never get these bells."

The three students nodded, and Kakashi hung the bells on his pouch. _If I'm right, Sakura will decide to hide in low grounds, Sasuke will stick to high grounds, and Naruto will run off into the woods. Lets see if this works. _"When I say start you may begin." The three tensed. "START!"

The three were gone instantly. Kakashi nodded to himself. _A ninja must conceal their movements and hide effectively. They seem to get that pretty easily. As expected, Sasuke is in a tree. He's waiting for me to let my guard down. There's Sakura, waiting for me to make a move, and Naruto is deep in the woods, listening for me to come. Interesting. But they still missed the point entirely._

"Okay, let's do this." Sakura whispered to herself, before sneaking off. Kakashi saw that. _I see. So she's going to make the first move, eh?_

Sakura snuck around to where Kakashi had his back to her, and threw a kunai at him. Kakashi simply side-stepped, not even looking back at her. He was about to lecture her, when the kunai suddenly 'poofed' into Sakura, who charged forward to grab the bell. She felt the tip of her finger brush it, but the Kakashi moved just in time. He looked back at the clone, then at the real deal.

_As expected from such great chakra control. To be able to pull off a cloning jutsu, and a transformation jutsu at the same time… _Kakashi mused to himself. He clipped back the slip of the pouch, pushing the book back in. _Guess I won't have time for this…_

Kakashi suddenly made a hand sign, in which sent a wave of leaves and grass circling Sakura. Her eyes widened as she realized what It was, genjutsu. As soon as the spell was over, she realized that Kakashi had left, and that she was alone in the clearing.

"Alright, where'd you go, you bastard?" She grumbled to herself, looking around carefully. She was under genjutsu, so she had to keep her eyes peeled.

"S-Sa…Kura…?" a deep voice sounded, and Sakura jumped at the voice. She turned happily while she blushed.

"Sasuke-kun!" She squeeled, until she saw that it was indeed Sasuke, but he was covered in blood. He had various Kunai jabbed into him, and he was crouched next to a tree. A pool of blood was beneath him, and it made Sakura retch and gag.

"S-Sakura…. Help me, please! Help me!" He called before coughing up more blood. Sakura saw the scene. Could this be genjutsu? But… it looked so real. That's when it finally hit her. It was Sasuke.

She let out a nerve wracking scream before falling over, fainted. Kakashi watched from a distance, reading his book.

"Okay, so maybe I went a little too far with that. But she's gotta learn to see through these things." Kakashi jumped down from the tree he was in and walked over to the fainted girl. He looked down at her. "You studied this in school, and yet you still fell for it, didn't you? While it's good to follow your heart, and to trust your gut once in a while, sometimes the best thing to do it to follow your brain. You understand? I like you better this way. You don't talk back as much." He chuckled to the collapsed female. Sasuke's eyes widened.

He thought, _now! Now's my chance! He finally let his guard down! _Before throwing two handfuls of shuriken at the man. While his teacher was talking, he was struck by all of them directly in his head. Sasuke smirked, but it faded when the figure 'poofed' into a log, showing the substitution jutsu. Sasuke leaped from his spot and took off further into the woods. Kakashi now knew where he was hiding, and he had to get out quick.

_So, there's him. Now where's Naruto? _Kakashi thought, still reading his book. Somewhere along in the woods, said ninja was crouched down, listening. He tapped into Kyuubi, and he was using him to listen to a further distance than an average human.

**I hear him. Sasuke's a bit to the left, Sakura's down, and Kakashi's now heading this way. Time for my plan.**

Naruto quickly created a clone of himself, who stripped himself of his jacket, leaving him in a black shirt. Naruto waited patiently, until he felt a gush of wind hit him.

Kakashi looked around for the dobe, making sure to follow down his trail. He only stopped when he noticed that it seemed darker than it should have been. The sun was out and it should be bright, but instead it was shady. The sensei looked up and that it was naruto's jacket, but it was tied to a kunai. It flew up in the air, and slowly came to a fall when the wind stopped. It dropped and chipped into the ground. The kunai was slightly on fire. Kakashi raised a brow and observed it.

_Was he trying to hit me with it? _Kakashi chuckled to himself. _Is that really what he was trying to do? I expected more from… wait… what's… That's a paper bomb! _Kakashi instantly jumped out of the way, just as the paper blew up in front of him. He shielded his face from the debris, until he heard one of the bells ringing. He swiftly flipped in mid-air, turning completely upside down. He saw that it was Naruto right behind him, grinning that same foxy grin. Kakashi shook his head. _Number one unpredictable ninja. Can't forget it._

Kakashi landed smoothly on his feet. Naruto instantly threw a few Kunai at him, but it missed him by a longshot. "Don't bother trying to hit me when you know you can't!" Kakashi informed, but was surprised when it hit a small thread of rope, that sent a waved of needles toward him. Kakashi dodged it easily, but then the kit came charging at him. He jumped and landed a kick right in the middle of his chest, in which the gray haired one caught. Using this, he used his opposite hand to try to punch his face, but it was caught as well. Now, Naruto was in an awkward position, and his body felt sore from the weird angle, but he continued. Now, Naruto was flipped sideways. He used his last leg to try and sweep Kakashi, but it was deflected easily. Now he was completely upside down, and that's what he wanted. He used his last hand to try and grab the bell. When Kakashi realized this, he dropped the boy immediately and back away.

_This kid! He's not half bad at all! Iruka wasn't lying! _Kakashi panted slightly along with Naruto. That's when Kakashi notice him. Sasuke wasn't too far from here, and he was once again waiting for him to drop his guard. _Your teammate is struggling. Help him! Don't just sit there and wait, help! _Kakashi wanted to yell at him, but refrained. Naruto's ear twitched, and he heard Sasuke as well.

"Well, I can't say I'm not impressed, Naruto." Kakashi stated. Naruto glared. "But, let's see how you fair against ninjutsu."

Naruto made a few quick hand signs before exclaiming, "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" and having a swarm of his clones around him. Kakashi stared on. So the rumors were true, that this was what he presented during the final test at the academy. They all came at him, but Kakashi had suddenly disappeared. They all looked around, looking for their opponent. The real Naruto huffed.

"Where is he?!" He growled, not expecting an answer. But he got one.

"Where am I? I'm where you least expect it!" He heard, and he knew where he was. He tried to jump out of the way, but his foot was already grabbed and yanked forcefully down. He was now neck deep into the hard ground. All of his clones disappeared, and he was alone in the ground aside from Kakashi. He cursed at himself. Kakashi came up right in front of him.

"How's the weather down there?" He teased, and Naruto growled as he tried to wiggle his way out. "I think my work here is done." He said, taking out his book and turning around. Naruto suddenly threw a fit.

"Hey! Get back here, I'm not finished yet!"

"Yes, you are." He finished, waving Naruto off. He heard distant curses in the background and smirked. Now for one last person.

_I see. Naruto had gotten too comfortable with his clones, and was oblivious to his surroundings. That dobe. Sakura just fell for the genjutsu, that stupid girl. _Sasuke thought to himself. "I'm not like Naruto or Sakura." Sasuke spoke aloud, coming out of hiding. Kakashi looked him up and down. "I'm different."

"You're different, I'll give you that much." At that moment, Sasuke made rapid hand movements, before holding his arms up to his face.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" He yelled, before letting out a large breath of flames into the air. Kakashi's eyes widened at the sight.

"What?! Genin can't do fire jutsu, it takes up too much chakra!" Kakashi remarked. The flames engulfed him and the area, making it nearly impossible to tell where he was. When the flames disbanded, it showed that the teacher was gone.

"What-?!" He exclaimed before being kicked directly in the face. Sasuke growled, glaring madly at the man in front of him.

* * *

Sakura had awoken quickly, and looked around for Kakashi. Escaping in the woods, she crouched down by some bushes when she saw Sasuke fighting against Kakashi. She smiled. Of course Sasuke would be going off on him. She looked at Naruto who wasn't too far away, and nearly keeled over laughing. He was neck deep in the ground, and only his head was showing.

She looked back at the scene with awe. Sasuke was showing off his taijutsu. He was kicking him and punching him with great speed and strength. Kakashi was deflect or grappling every hit, showing little struggle. Sasuke bounced back, but then threw a few needles at him. Kakashi deflected it, but when he did the needles suddenly turned into a barrage of kunai and shuriken. Sensei was hit again, but it was only a clone.

"You certainly are different. But different is not always better. They say the nail that sticks up is the one that gets hammered down first." He joked, coming form behind Sasuke. Sakura had enough of his bad mouthing, and quickly threw a handful of shuriken at him. It hit him, but it turns out he was really a log. Sasuke gasped and looked around, trying to find the real one. He suddenly felt his foot being grabbed, and like Naruto, he was pulled neck deep underground. Kakashi smiled. "Turns out you're not so different after all." With that, he quickly vanished. Sasuke cursed at himself for not seeing this sooner. Sakura came out of hiding to help him.

"Sasuke! Are you hurt!?" She asked frantically, trying to find a way to get him out. Sasuke glared at the ground.

"No, hurry it up! If I'm right, it should be noon in about-" Before Sasuke could finish, there was a long ringing sound that echoed through the woods. Naruto sighed.

"Times up." He muttered.

* * *

**Back near the three stumps at the training ground**

Sakura and Sasuke sat in front of Kakashi, Naruto was tied to the post. At that moment, Sakura and Sasuke's stomachs began to growl madly. Kakashi crossed his arms.

"Uh oh, stomachs growling. That's a shame. Oh, and by the way, about this test, I've decided not to send any of you back to the academy." He said bluntly. Sakura lifted her head.

"What? We didn't even get a single bell… did we get it for trying?" She asked. **_*SHANNARO! I knew I'd get by somehow!*_**

Sasuke grunted lightly, almost in content. Naruto blew a bang out of his face. "So why am I tied up here then, _Sensei?" _He asked, putting emphasis on the last word. Kakashi smiled at him.

"Oh that? That's for eating breakfast after I told you not too. But now it doesn't really matter, because I'm dropping all three of you from the program." He informed. The three perked up at this.

"Dropped from the program?" Naruto repeated. Kakashi nodded.

"Permanently." Sensei finished. The three students went silent. Naruto finally spoke up.

"So, first you tell us to take the bells from you, and we try to, and we fail. You said if we failed we would be _sent back to the academy._ So, what gives you the right to change your mind like that?!" The boy snapped. Kakashi just shook his head at him, furrowing his brow. Sakura glared at the teacher.

"Listen, sensei. Naruto may be annoying but he has a point. You gave us a task and a punishment. You can't just change the punishment whenever you like." Sakura chimed in. Sasuke nodded with a small 'hmmph.'. Kakashi just shook his head once more.

"It's because you three don't think like ninjas; you think like brats, little kids." Sasuke had enough of this. He charged at Kakashi with his kunai, until he was put down easily by the jonin. Sakura suddenly stood up.

"Hey! LET GO OF SASUKE-KUN RIGHT NOW!" Sakura commanded, but shut up as soon as she saw the look Kakashi gave.

"You guys don't take this seriously. You think this is a game, huh?" He responded. They all shut up and listened to what he had to say. "Why do you think we put you on squads, did that question ever cross your mind?"

"What…. Wha-"

"Use your heads. Three man squads. Why would we do that? Why not just let you run off on your own?" He butt in. They all pondered this for a moment. "Drawing blanks, Naruto?" Naruto looked up. "You seem to know a lot about people and how to get information, but do you know this? Tell me, do you?"

Naruto looked down, he really didn't know the answer to it. Kakashi turned to Sakura. "As one of the smartest Kunoichi in the academy, you should be able to figure this out, Sakura?" Sakura gulped and looked away. Finally, he glanced down at Sasuke. "And if you're so much better than everyone else in this group, than why are you not riding solo? Why did we put you with these 'underdogs' when you are obviously the 'topdog'?" Sasuke growled, struggling under the man's grip. "It's so basic, even a toddler could figure it out. Teamwork!"

"Teamwork?" Naruto repeated. Sakura looked at Naruto.

"Just working together? Is that really it, sensei?" Kakashi nodded.

"That's right. It's _too late now, _but if all three of you had come at me, you might have gotten the bells." Naruto suddenly threw a fit.

"If you wanted us to work together, than why aren't there three bells!? If we HAD worked together, we only would have gotten two, then the squad would break up, you know!"

"Yes. I purposely pitted you against each other. I wanted to see if you could look passed that. A genin should have a natural feel for teamwork and companionship, but it's the exact opposite with you guys." Kakashi continued. "Sakura! You obsessed over Sasuke so much that it clouded your judgment of the genjutsu, and then when you found Naruto in trouble, you wouldn't lift a figure to help him. You only helped Sasuke. Naruto! You completely dismissed yourself from the group. You let the other members be the bait, and you watched from the background; you do everything on your own. Everything. Sasuke! You put yourself above everyone, so much so that they were worthless. Instead of helping Sakura get over the genjutsu when she was fighting me, you let her lure me out and used her as a pawn. Then you did the exact same thing to Naruto. Arrogance. Ninja missions are done in squads. Sure, you need individual skills but working together is the main asset."

Naruto opened his mouth to yell, when Kakashi beat him to it. "Don't interrupt me Naruto! You can't put yourself above the squad. It will only lead to failure. For example; Sakura, kill Naruto now or Sasuke dies!" He demanded, holding a kunai to Sasuke's throat. Sakura gasped and Naruto growled. Kakashi nodded. "Exactly. You wouldn't know what to do. And in the end, someone ends up dead. In every mission, your life is on the line." He walked towards a large stone monument, observing it quietly. "Did you look at this? The names that are engraved? They are the names of fallen heroes of the past."

Everyone grew silent. Kakashi continued. "Those who died on a mission, or who gave their lives to save the squad. Most of my closest friends are named here." No one dared to say a word. Kakashi looked back at the silent trio. "Alright. I will give you one last chance to get a bell, this time it will be twice as hard. Eat lunch now to build up strength, but don't give any to Naruto."

"Tsk!" Naruto sounded, and Kakashi put his hands on his hips while he walked towards them.

"It's your punishment for not following the rules, kid. I make the rules, not you. Get used to it. Oh, and if anyone tries to feed him, or if they eat more food than given to them, they will immediately fail." With that said, Kakashi 'poofed' out of sight. The three sat awkwardly, trying to fully understand what they had been told.

* * *

Sakura set down her empty bento, and sighed. She was still hungry. Because she was on a diet, she also skipped dinner last night. Her stomach growled loudly, and the two looked at her. Sasuke watched her closely.

"Why are you still hungry?" He asked. Sakura laughed nervously, batting her eyes.

"Oh, nothing, it's just that I didn't really eat much yesterday either. Hehe.." She replied, while her stomach still made weird noises. Naruto opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Are you on a diet? That's lame." He said bluntly, and Sakura scoffed.

"Shut up! You don't know anything about me, Naruto! I bet you would never underst-"

"My pocket." Naruto suddenly said, catching both of their attention. "I have… a small snack in my pockey. You can have it." Naruto closed his eyes, resting his head on the bark behind him. Sakura blinked and checked his pocket, and there was a small stash of food. She looked back up, then scoffed.

"I bet this is another one of your tricks. And besides, Kakashi said not to eat more than he gave us!" Naruto opened one eye lazily.

"Just take it. I'll take the heat if he catches you. If you're hungry, you'll only slow us down. So hurry up and eat." Sakura hesitated, but then took the food. She felt better after eating it, gaining back some strength. Then another stomach growled. It was Naruto's.

"You damn hypocrite! You were hungry the entire time!" She exclaimed. Naruto shrugged.

"So what? It wasn't much, but I ate breakfast. I'll be fine-"His stomach roared again, and he just shut his mouth. Sasuke looked at him, then sighed.

"Eat." He said, holding some rice up to his face. Naruto dead panned.

"What part of, 'I ate breakfast', are you not getting?" He replied, but Sasuke wasn't having it.

"You might have eaten before us, but you eat a lot more than us. So just take it, you need your strength." Sasuke said, this time forcing the food into his mouth. Naruto protested and held a fit for a minute or two, before just giving up and eating.

Of course, Kakashi came barreling in. The clouds had turned dark and the wind came more forcefully than ever. He stood over them, watching them angrily.

"You broke the rules, I hope you're ready for the punishment!" He snapped. Sakura scrambled behind the stump, and Sasuke held his ground. "Any last words?" They all just stared in shock, before Naruto spoke.

"B-but… you said…" Naruto muttered, but Kakashi heard it. He looked up confidently. "You said that we need to look out for each other! So why should we listen to your rules if it means hurting one another!?" He yelled. Sakura looked at him, then nodded.

"Yeah! We're a three man squad! We stick up for each other because we are one!"

Sasuke suddenly chimed in, "We're all in it together!" Kakashi cocked his head to the side. Even with the mask, you could tell how disgusted he looked.

"You're all in it together? That's your excuse?!" He repeated, the winds rising in speed and the thunder booming loudly. Suddenly, it stopped. "You pass." He said with a sweet smile behind that mask of his. The three of them paused.

"Huh?"

"You pass." He answered again, making the clouds and wind die down. He stood up straight. "You're the first squad to ever succeed. The others did exactly as I told them to. In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum. But, those who abandon their teammates are worse than scum." He finally said, looking at the three. Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke looked at each other. Sakura smiled.

"Yes! We passed!" She exclaimed happily, and Naruto joined in.

"We actually passed. We actually passed!" He laughed. Sasuke just nodded his head silently, a smirk on his face. Kakashi gave a thumbs up.

"Yes. Starting tomorrow, Team 7 will start its first mission!"


	4. The land of waves

**Backstabbers**

* * *

**Ch. 4: The Land Of Waves **

* * *

_**Kyuubi Speaking**_

**Naruto thinking**

"Someone speaking**"**

_Someone thinking_

'_**FlashBack'**_

**(Author's input)**

*****_**Sakura's inner conscience***_

* * *

Over the period of time, team 7 had been… having a shaky relationship. While they understood the importance of 'teamwork', they still had extreme trusting issues with each other. The only one Sakura trusted was Sasuke, and Sasuke and Naruto kept a distance from each other. Naruto would usually pick fights with Sakura, over the littlest things. About her hair, her diet, her flirting technique, her flat chest. In turn, Sakura would snap at him about his face, control, clothes, hair, eyes, anything really. Sometimes she would even go as far as to insult his parents, and that definitely set the fuse. As for Sasuke, it was complicated. Sasuke was a lone wolf who cared only for himself. Naruto was a sly and tricky fox who doesn't _trust _anyone easily. The combo did not mix well together. They wouldn't usually get in a physical fight, but arguing was definitely in the picture. Occasionally, they'd have their moments where they'd share a peaceful 'conversation', if you will. Most of the dialogue Sasuke used was small grunts, and or short sentences that usually were blunt and cold.

Lately, Sasuke had been putting himself above everyone, including Kakashi. It got to the point where Kakashi would have to threaten him to return to the group while they were on a mission. He would often leave the group to finish the job on his own. Sakura would usually try to follow him, but he would just get fed up with her. And Naruto would just blow off the mission entirely if he felt like it. In fact, Naruto hadn't completed a single mission since the bells training without leaving half-way through, or being too stubborn to work with the group. If he felt annoyed over the smallest thing, or if he 'didn't feel like' putting up with his teammates, he'd abandon the team without another word. One of their latest missions was to walk a few dogs for an owner. Naruto chose the big dog, but in the middle of the walk, the dog kept tugging on the leash, and he ended up just letting the leash go and having the dog run off. Then, Naruto would run away from the mission. In the end, Kakashi would have to track him down and literally drag him by his collar back to the team.

While Sakura usually followed Sasuke, she barely tried on any of the jobs. Most of the jobs she did, she spent most of the time gawking at her precious Sasuke. In the dog mission, she barely paid attention to her dog and kept trying to flirt with him. This would then make Sasuke frustrated, and he'd grab all of the leashes and walk off, completing the mission by himself. Kakashi sighed. In the end, the group would be completely broken up. Kakashi knew that they would only look after each other _if they had to. _But a genin should have a natural tendency to make comrades, or to bond with people. But this team… was full of the exact opposite of that.

Sakura's ninja wear was a red qipao dress without sleeves. Her pink hair was to her back, usually pulled up into a loose ponytail, and her forehead protector was place on the top of her head. **(Sakura wears a pony tail in this fic. If you have trouble picturing it, think of Ino without her bang) **She also wore dark green shorts, and standardized ninja sandals.

As for Naruto, he wore his usual orange jacket and pants. Mostly on missions he would tie his jacket around his waist. Underneath he wore a black shirt. He wore standardized ninja sandals, and he wore his forehead protector on his neck. On his head were his goggles he usually wore. **(I decided to let him keep the goggles. I always like them, and I was unhappy when they were taken away. Those beautiful, beautiful goggles…*sniff*)**

Sasuke wore the traditional Uchiha outfit, a black shirt with a high collar and an Uchiha symbol on the back. He wore black shorts, and ninja sandals. He wore his forehead protector on his forehead, but he usually left it at home, no matter how many times Kakashi ordered him to bring the headband.

* * *

**Hokage Residence**

Naruto kicked the hokage's door open, making him look up. He sighed when he saw the blonde haired boy. He was covered in scratch marks and had a dark scowl on his face. Sakura was behind him, and her clothes were torn in the form of claw marks. Sasuke came in and barely looked touched. Kakashi laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head.

"Sorry we were a little late, we were-"

"Your cat is an ass." Naruto muttered bluntly, holding the feline by the scruff of her neck. The client gasped and snatched her pet from the boy.

"How dare you call her that?!" She exclaimed at him. Naruto crossed his arms.

"How dare I? How dare you raise such a horrible excuse for a pet? But, I guess I can see the resemblance. You know what they say, a pet acts just like there owner-"Naruto sneered, but Kakashi clamped a hand over his mouth. With some reluctance, the client left with her cat. As soon as the door close, Naruto turned toward the 4th. "Can you give us some real missions?" He asked lazily. The old man looked up. "I mean, finding a lost cat? You don't need a ninja to do that. It would make more sense to give us better jobs, you know. I bet you've realized this long before I even brought this up, haven't you?"

Sakura made a move to hit him, but the hokage just motioned her to stop. He smiled. "So, the 'former brat' wants a better challenge, eh? Well, how about a C-rank mission to the land of waves?"

Kakashi nodded. "Sounds perfect. Now you guys will have a better chance to test your skills. But there's a catch; Naruto, if we agree to do this higher ranked mission, you have to promise not to bail on us. That goes triple for the rest of you guys. I don't care how annoyed you guys get, this is serious." Naruto and the rest promised and calmly waited for the client. After a minute or two, the client came in. He was an old man with grey hair and darker skin. He was obviously drunk, and to prove it, he had a piece of rope tied around his head. He stumbled into the room.

"These-these are the ninjas that you have assigned? They look like idiots, especially…the one in the orange jumpsuit." He slurred.

"What did you say, you old drunk bastard!?" Naruto snapped and charged at him, but Sasuke held him back. Sakura also stepped in front of him.

"Come on, Naruto! You can't hurt the client!" She whispered. Naruto sneered.

"I don't see anything wrong with it. What's he going to do? Cry home to his mom? Oh, wait, maybe not. By the looks of him, I can tell his mums been in the ground for centuries." He replied bluntly, struggling to get out of the Uchiha's grip. Sasuke hissed and yanked the kid back, one arm swung across his neck, and the other held both of his wrists behind his back. The old man took another swing of his alcohol.

"Got a feisty o-one over there-er. I am Tazuna, a master bridge builder. I must-must return to my country. I am building a bridge there that will…change this world-orld, and I expect to get there safely-ey. Even if it means giving up your life." He slurred, dropping the bottle. It broke and sent tiny pieces of glass flying. Naruto groaned obnoxiously.

"I'm out of here." He scowled before struggling to leave, but Sasuke had a tight hold on him.

Kakashi smiled sweetly. "Naruto… you promised, remember?" He cooed. Naruto shot a dark glare at his sensei. Kakashi put a hand on his chin. "Well, if you don't want it, we won't take the mission. I know a mission you'll love; somewhere in this village lies an old broke family, and they just lost their pet bird-"

"ALRIGHT. I get it. I'll take the stupid mission, with the stupid client, with my stupid teammates. AND YOU CAN LET GO NOW, UCHIHA." Naruto spat before Sasuke dropped him to the ground harshly. Tazuna cocked his head at Naruto, before giving a hardy laugh. But while laughing, he ended up coughing and choking madly. Naruto sighed. "Of all the dumbasses in the world, why the hell this one?" He grumbled, and Hokage sighed. He could never get used to Naruto's foul mouth.

Once they exited the hokage residence, Naruto looked over to Tazuna. He was fairly sober now, and was walking decently. Time to pop the question.

"So, when were you going to tell us that you lied about the mission rank?" Sakura beat him to it. Naruto and Sasuke looked at Tazuna, knowing it as well. A nervous look washed over the old man. Kakashi turned around as well.

"You didn't think that we really didn't see it, did you? After all, we do have the bright Sakura, the famous Sasuke, and the prankster Naruto." He informed, stopping at the entrance to the village. Tazuna gulped.

"What's your cost?" He said finally, defeated. Kakasho crossed his arms.

"You have to tell us all about the threats of the country, and what we will be up against." He replied. Tazuna explained the entire Gato situation. The three genin already had a clue on who Gato was. Though, they didn't know much. Gato was known for keeping a low profile. After a discussion, they decided to accept the mission. They made their way to the destination, when they came across a boat. There was man waiting for them to get in. When they did, they sailed through the mist of the lake, keeping it on the down low. The fog was so thick, you could barely see what 2 feet ahead of you was. When they finally reached the shore, they set out for the real village.

While walking, it seemed to be a safe road. Fortunately, Naruto's senses were on alert. Kyuubi was looking out for him.

_**Kit, be on your guard. I sense danger around here.**_

**I got it, Kyuubi.**

And Kyuubi was right. A few more feet ahead, and Naruto caught the scent of the man. He darted his head all around, trying to pin-point the scent. Sakura saw this.

"What are you doing Naruto?" She asked, one hand on her hip. Naruto sniffed all around, but he still could track him. This made Sakura mad. "Are you even list-"

"SHH!" Naruto shushed her, holding a hand in front of her face. He listened, and listened, and listened. That's when he heard it. The wooshing sound of an object

being thrown.

"Quit fussin! The faster we get to my house, the faster-"Tazuna began but was cut off. **(haha, the puns.)**

"GET DOWN!" Both Kakashi and Naruto yelled at the same time. Sakura tackled Tazuna, and Sasuke hit the floor. On top of them, a large blade came twirling towards them. It hit a nearby tree, following with a man standing right on the handle.

Kakashi and Naruto were side by side on the ground. Finally, Naruto knew who he was.

"Momochi Zabuza." He muttered. Sakura and Sasuke looked back at him. Sasuke joined in.

"I've heard of him. He's known as the demon of the mist, making rank A on the missing nins category." He added. Naruto slowly stood up, along with everyone else. He scrunched his face at Zabuza.

"He's also one of the former member of the Hidden Mist Shinobi swordsman. Master of the silent assassination technique." Sakura continued. She shuddered as she suddenly got a bad feeling. Zabuza chuckled.

"You've got smart kids, Kakashi. Though, they really don't look like much challenge, to be honest." He laughed slightly. Naruto growled under his breath.

"Want to test that theory?" He threatened, but Kakashi grabbed his shoulder.

"No Naruto. You'll just get in the way." He explained, lightly pushing him behind his back. Naruto glared at his teacher. "Just protect Tazuna, that's your mission."

"Whatever." Naruto joined Sakura and Sasuke. Out of nowhere, Kakashi raised his head band, showing that he had the Sharingan. Sasuke's eyes widened.

_Is that the… sharingan? But only a few selected Uchihas are gifted with that rare Kekkei Genkai. Does this mean… Kakashi…? _Sasuke thought.

"Enough talking. I need to exterminate the old man, NOW." Zabuza suddenly spoke. Tazuna gasped, but was then surrounded by Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. They were in formation, ready to fight if they needed to. "So, I'll have to eliminate you first Kakashi? So be it." He continued. He grabbed his sword with incredible speed, and jumped towards the water, standing on it. Sakura and the other were shocked at this. He was standing on water.

"Kirigakure no Jutsu!" He exclaimed, while a flood of mist surrounded him. Then he was gone. Silence. Team 7 stood there, with their guard up, ready to attack. Kakashi watched carefully, looking for any signs of the assassin.

"You three… you're smart. You probably already have a clue on what we're up against, so don't lower your guard." Kakashi warned, tensing up. After that, Kakashi started to disappear into the fog.

"8 points." They heard Zabuza echo. "Larynx, Liver, Spine, lung, Heart, jugular, kidneys, and subclavian arteries. Which one will I puncture?" Naruto growled at the speech, feeling the hair on his arms and legs stand up from a chill he got. Sakura glanced at him.

"Will you cool it?! We have to keep a level head. This is an assassin." Sakura whispered. ***I'm going to murder this Zabuza-freak! Shannaro…*** Naruto rolled his eyes, shaking his head slightly. Meanwhile, Sasuke had been a trembling mess. He was almost reminded of when he saw his brother slaughter his clan, right in front of him. The thought that at any moment, any breath, any blink of an eye, he could be dead in a second, made him shake from the inside out.

_This suspense is killing me. It's suffocating! If this continues I might just go insane…_ He felt himself grasp the kunai he had. He felt light-headed.

_No… I'd rather… take my own life… _Sasuke thought as he held the sharp object up to his stomach. But before he could strike, there was a hand on his shoulder. He looked and saw it was Naruto.

"Oi, teme," He murmured under his breath. "Before you even think about it, I'm just going to let you know that I never thought you were _that much of a coward."_ The last few words were filled with malice and venom, almost daring Sasuke to try it. This made Sasuke freeze. "I mean, I used to think you were pretty top notch, but I guess that I was wrong." He teased further, slowly filling up Sasuke's Rage-O-meter. Finally, he finished the deal. "I always heard that the Uchiha's were strong and bold ninjas who let nothing stand in their way. But, even the great must fall-"Sasuke grabbed the front part of Naruto's back shirt, practically breathing down his neck. He glared daggers into him, and Naruto smirked.

"Welcome back." Naruto chuckled at him. He snapped Sasuke out of it. Realizing what he did, Sasuke slowly set Naruto back on the ground. **(Hehe, lol, he lifted him off the ground. That's freaking hilarious)**

"Hmph. Dobe." He cursed, getting back in formation. Naruto did the same. Suddenly, the whole group heard a maniacal snicker.

"Aw, how sweet. But friend-time is over now. It's time to end this." Zabuza said. Naruto felt his senses kick in, and he knew where this assassin was. Kyuubi did too.

_**KIT! BEHIND YOU, NOW!**_

Out of pure instinct, Naruto dropped to the ground while holding his head. If Zabuza had swung, he would have been safe. But it had been halted, by a certain copycat ninja. Kakashi had stabbed the kunai into the killer's stomach, listening as clear water poured out of it. The others stared at the figure as it soon demented into a pool of water. Sakura was about to ask what happened, when Naruto suddenly shouted, "SENSEI! BEHIND YOU!" Kakashi turned and saw Zabuza, with the blade. Without warning, it was swung, and his body was made into a pair. That is, until that pair also turned into water.

Zabuza's eyes widened. _The water clone jutsu… it can't be… _He thought nervously. _Even in the mist, he saw through my illusion. _Then he heard a small _clank, _and realized that there was a knife at his throat.

"Don't you dare move. NOW, it's over." Kakashi said slowly from behind. A wave of relief washed over the others, but there was still something in the air. Naruto felt his body shiver. He had a bad feeling. Sakura and Sasuke felt it too.

"You feel that too, right? I'm not crazy right?" Naruto whispered to the others. Sakura raised a brow.

"Yeah, that weird tense feel in the air. But, you're still crazy." She added. Sasuke looked over to the two and nodded, showing agreement. Naruto nodded back.

"Good. We all actually agree on something."

Snickers came from the bandaged man, and the spot light was on him. "Is that so, kakashi? I don't think that I can be so easily defeated by a mere copycat ninja like you." Kakashi tensed at this. "But you are full of surprises. You already copied my water clone jutsu while the other kids were talking. Then you were waiting for me in the mist. Clever trick. But not good enough." Just like that, with great strength and force, Kakashi was kicked through the air and into water. But it wasn't like any other water. It seemed denser. Just at that moment, Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi. "Suroi No Jutsu!" And with that, sensei was trapped in a sphere of water.

"Shit!" Naruto cursed. Sakura turned towards Tazuna.

"Back away! NOW!" She ordered. Tazuna scrambled to get away, but was blocked by Zabuza's water clone. The three ninjas jumped in front of him. Naruto glared at Sakura.

"Got any more bright ideas?!" He asked sarcastically. Zabuza laughed silently at them.

"You guys think that wearing a headband makes you a ninja? When you've hovered between life and death so often to where you aren't fazed by it, then you can call yourselves ninja." Naruto looked around, the man disappeared.

"A ninja? Really? I think that's called Masoch-" Naruto snorted, but was suddenly kicked from behind. He was sent back flying, and landed on his back. His headband fell off from his neck, falling to the side. Zabuza came over and stomped on the metal, cracking it slightly. Naruto choked and coughed, before muttering the last of it. "-ism…" He wiped his cheek, looking at the sight of blood that had been smeared. Sakura and Sasuke turned.

"Naruto-"

"STAY BACK. Protect the old bastard!" Naruto choked out, holding his arms in front of him. Kakashi suddenly began banging on the walls of the water.

"Run away with Tazuna! He's got a hold on me, so he can only use his water clone! If you get far enough then you won't be followed anymore! RUN!" He demanded. After a second to think, the team hadn't budged.

_Not gonna happen. Even if we manage to escape… _Sasuke thought to himself.

… _He'll still track us down, and slaughter us. _Sakura continued.

…_and like Kakashi said, one of us will already be dead. You. _Naruto finished. He stood up slowly, a look of determination on his face. He turned to the old man and sneered.

"HEY! You watchin' me, you drunk bastard?!" Naruto yelled out. Tazuna looked at him. "This IDIOT over here is about to save your damn life!" He laughed with a cocky attitude. Sasuke smirked and charged at Zabuza, completely brushing off Naruto. "I SAID ME!" He yelled after the Uchiha. Sasuke ran directly after Zabuza, throwing shuriken and Kunai at him. The blade was swung at him, but right as it did he jumped in the air and went at him from above. He was caught easily by the throat, and thrown aside like a toy. Naruto winced at this.

"That's gotta hurt. Glad it wasn't me…" He said under his breath. He looked over at Sakura, who looked as if she was about to explode at the moment. She looked beyond pissed off, Naruto would've sworn he red horns and a tail. She instantly charged after Zabuza, making hand signs along the way. Zabuza smirked and cleaved her in half, only for it to poof into a log. Sakura came up behind him and reeled her hand back to punch, but she was also caught by her neck. She kicked and squirmed in his grasp, even biting his arm at one point. This only made Zabuza laugh.

"Squirm, little rabbit, squirm!" He snickered, clutching her harder. Kakashi desperately tried to break the barrier but it was useless. The wall was as strong as steel. Sakura growled and kicked Zabuza in the face, but this only made him laugh even harder. He only clenched her throat tighter

"N-naruto! He-help!" She gagged. Naruto scoffed.

"Really? Me? I thought you'd NEVER ask! Sasuke!" Naruto called out. Sasuke looked over. "Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" With that, clones surrounded and piled on top of Zabuza, but they were sliced immediately. Naruto fell back, but then reached into his bag and pulled out a large shurikan. He threw it at Sasuke, and he caught it. Sasuke's eyes widened.

_So that was your plan, you dobe… not bad, for you…_ Without hesitating, he chucked it at the assassin, but it flew passed the clone and went directly to the real deal. Zabuza caught the weapon, but there was another one coming right at him. Zabuza simply jumped over it. He laughed at them, dropping Sakura.

"That won't have any effect on me!" He exclaimed. Until he heard a distant sound coming from behind him. Turning, he just got a glance at the blonde before 6 needles were stuck into his arm. Naruto cursed.

"Damn! Missed his neck!" Zabuza glared at the boy, before spinning the large shuriken.

"I've had enough of your shit, you brat!" He growled at him. Just before he was going to throw it, Kakashi suddenly stopped him. He held the weapon firmly, keeping the enemy at bay. He looked over at Naruto and nodded.

"That was a good strategy Naruto!" Kakashi yelled at him, and Naruto smirked. Sakura looked up at Naruto, and she smirked.

"I got it. He was the Shuriken all along." She lightly chuckled. Naruto nodded at her.

"I lost hold of my grip, because I was 'distracted'-"Zabuza started but was cut off.

"You weren't distracted. You were forced to let go. And you know it." Kakashi said angrily as he held the weapon firmly. Before anyone knew it, they clashed once more. Kakashi showed off his copycat skills, and how he was able to perfectly mimic Zabuza's movement. Just as Kakashi was about to seal the deal, two needles hit Zabuza directly in the neck, making him keel over. Sensei looked over to Naruto.

"Great job Naruto! You finally got your aim down!" He informed, but Naruto didn't respond like he thought he would.

"That wasn't me. It's the creepy bitch above your head." He replied bluntly. Kakashi blinked, before realizing that there was in fact, a female above his head. She jumped before them.

"Thank you. I've been tracking Zabuza for some time now, and I've been waiting to take him down." Sakura stepped up.

"Judging by your mask, I can tell that you are a hunter nin for the village hidden in the mist." She stated.

"Very impressive. You are well informed, little girl." The hunter said. She threw Zabuza over her shoulder, and departed. Kakashi turned to the rest.

"We need some rest, quickly." Kakashi panted. "You guys look like your about to faint." He kakashi weazed for a few seconds. Sasuke shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Take a look in the mirror." He suddenly said. Tazuna shakily got up from his spot, wiping the water off his face.

"Well, we can rest at the village. It's not too far from here-"He started, until Kakashi fell over randomly. Team 7 ran over to him quickly, checking his body.

"kakashi-sensei!"

* * *

Kakashi woke up groggily, and frankly confused. He had no idea where he was, and why he was there. The first thing he noticed was that his body felt worn out and tired. The next thing he noticed was a pink haired girl sitting next to him. Looking over, he saw that it was Sakura.

"Good morning, sensei." Sakura greeted, looking at her nails. Kakashi sat up slowly.

"This doesn't really feel like a _good _morning. I guess this is what I get for using that Sharingan a little too much…" He replied, rubbing his head. "Where's Naruto and Sasuke?" At this Sakura shrugged.

"I saw Sasuke go out for a walk a while ago, and I was going to go with him, but Tazuna needed some help around the house. And Naruto's gone off somewhere, I don't really remember when he left." She said. Kakashi blinked.

"When will they be back?" He asked. Sakura thought for a moment.

"Well, Sasuke and Naruto were pretty upset when they left. They got into some argument on the way here, and-"

"A fight? What was it about?" Kakashi butt in.

"As soon as we were in the clear, they just started getting mad at each other. I tried to stop them, but they weren't paying attention to me." She explained. "They were arguing about Zabuza, and about what Naruto apparently 'screwed up' on. Sasuke was really getting on his back about it, and Naruto just was being Naruto." Kakashi nodded after a moment. "You approve of this?"

"They need to let this conflict out now, so it doesn't grow on later. The best thing to do when they get in a fight is to just let them deal with it. Otherwise, the tension will just grow bigger and bigger." Sakura nodded at this. "As soon they get back, we start at training again."

"Already? Shouldn't you rest up a bit?" Sakura asked. Kakashi smiled.

"No worries. For the most part, you guys will be doing all of the work."

It took a long time before Naruto eventually came back. He was wearing his goggles over his eyes, and his hands were shoved in his pockets. He looked a little tired.

"About damn time, idiot." Sakura instantly said. Naruto lifted his head gear and rolled his eyes at her.

"I forgot that the bitch was still here." He scowled. Sakura got up in his face, getting ready to yell at him, when Kakashi held her back.

"Calm down, you two." He stated and Sakura sat back down. "So, I heard you had yourself a little spat with Sasuke?" Naruto snorted, taking his jacket off.

"No, no, we were having a great time." He added sarcastically. "Until he decided act like an asshole." Tazuna came around the corner and groaned.

"Aw, great. The brat has returned to wreak more havoc among us." He slurred again, even more drunk than before. Naruto instantly stomped towards Tazuna and was about to take a swing at him, but Kakashi grabbed him.

"Naruto! We really need to have a talk on that anger of yours." Kakashi threatened as he pushed Naruto to the side. "And Tazuna. You really shouldn't be bad mouthing someone who saved your life not too long ago." With this, a wave of guilt his the old man again, and he left the room. As this happened, Sasuke entered the home.

"And now they're back." Sakura said, standing up. Kakashi took ahold of his crutches and stood up as well.

"We'll deal with your situations later. Now, we have to begin training. We wasted too much time already." Kakashi concluded. Sasuke simply gave an 'hmmph' and left with the other three.

* * *

**I hate this chapter SO FREAKIN MUCH! U DUN EVEN K-NO! U DUN EVEN K-NO! **

**Seriously! I've never had a bigger struggle with a chapter ever! I just hated writing the Zabuza scene! I hate it! HATEHATEHATE! *rages***

**the struggle is real, guyz.**

**Reviews are da bestttt!**


	5. Training and tension

**Backstabbers**

* * *

**Ch. 5- Training and the final fight**

_**Kyuubi Speaking**_

**Naruto thinking**

"Someone speaking**"**

_Someone thinking_

'_**FlashBack'**_

**(Author's input)**

*****_**Sakura's inner conscience***_

* * *

"We're going to climb trees?" Sakura asked bluntly. Kakashi nodded his head at her, and she scoffed. "I'm pretty sure we can all climb trees, sensei. Even a 7 year old could do it." Naruto and Sasuke nodded in agreement. Kakashi shook his head with a chuckle.

"No, Sakura. It's a bit more complicated than that. You're not allowed to use your hands." He replied. The three stayed silent as he continued. "This will teach you how to focus your chakra to one point of your body. The hardest place to focus it to is your feet. "

Naruto frowned. "Okay, neat trick. We can learn how to climb a tree. Exactly why do we need to learn this now? Wouldn't it be smarter to teach us back at the village?" Kakashi looked down for a minute, before shaking his head slowly. Sasuke looked over.

"Oi, that was actually a good point. What's the problem?" Sasuke asked his teacher.

"The problem is that Zabuza is still alive." Kakashi said after a sigh. The team's heads shot up.

"Are you freaking kidding me?!" Naruto exclaimed. Sasuke chimed in.

"But we saw him die. There's no way you can survive a blow like that. Combined with all of our efforts, you must be mistaken." Sasuke added. Sakura agreed with him.

"C'mon guys, think! That tracker ninja impaled him with throwing needles right? Well, what did she do to him afterward?" He asked the group.

"Uh, she took it away somewhere? What's your point?" Naruto answered. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"The point is that she should've worked on him right then and there, so why did she take him away?"

"Exactly, Sasuke. It doesn't make any sense." Sakura agreed with a smile. Kakashi walked towards them.

"The needles put him in a temporary state of death. Tracker ninja are trained to know every part of the human body. So knowing how to 'kill' someone, without really killing them, is an easy matter for them."

"I got it. So the tracker was actually trying to save Zabuza, not kill him." Naruto said.

"Precisely." Kakashi threw down three kunai and they landed in front of the three genin.

"You will mark the spot you last reached, and then each time try to go a little farther." He explained. "This will increase your skill in chakra ten-fold. If you learn how to do this, theoretically, you should be able to master most jutsus." They all picked up the kunai and got in their stance. After they felt their chakra build up, they charged towards the tree. Sasuke hit the tree first, but as soon as his foot made contact with the bark, it smashed into it. He fell back and stuck the landing. Naruto charged after, and instead of breaking the tree, his foot simply slipped up and he fell on his back. Sakura was the last on to go, and she happened to make it all the way to the first branch. Sasuke glanced up.

"Psh. Whatever." He muttered. Sakura glared at him. _***Shannaro… He's still ignoring me…***_

Naruto groaned and rubbed his shoulder. He looked at the tree.

**Damn. I get it now. You need to have your chakras balanced perfectly. In my case, having too little chakra makes you slip and fall. In Uchiha's case, having too much chakra will break the tree. It's no surprise Sakura-chan was able to make it, she's spot on with Chakra.**

Kakashi smirked. "Well, looks like the female of the group is more superior to the rest. I thought that it was a certain Uchiha who was, as they all say, 'the best of the best'. I guess not. And as for Naruto, looks like Sakura isn't so bad after all." The two boys glared at him, while Sakura was inwardly cheering for herself.

"What's that supposed to mean, _Sensei?_" Naruto hissed, stepping forward. Kakashi waved a hand in front of him and frowned.

"Speaking of you, I want to talk to you alone. Sasuke, Sakura, continue to get higher and higher." Kakashi stated, jumping before Naruto. They walked off further into the woods until they came to a small clearing. Kakashi sat down and patted a seat beside him. Naruto crossed his arms.

"I've got better things to do, like train." Naruto said, turning around and walking away. Before he could get far, a thread of fine wire shot around him and strapped him to nearby tree. He squirmed and tried to break the thread, but to no avail. Finally, he slumped his shoulder and sighed. Kakashi walked over to him.

"Since you wanted to act like a brat, I'm going to treat you like a brat, got that?" He looked up above and towards the sky. "Naruto, I ask one thing of you, then I'll leave you alone for the rest of our time as team 7."

"What?" He replied bluntly.

"Grow up." Sensei answered. Naruto growled. "I'm saying that I know you've gone through a lot… hell, you're probably still going through it. But acting like you don't belong on this planet, snapping at other people for no reason, closing yourself up like this, is not how you deal with it."

"What the hell would you know?" Kakashi looked up. "How would you know how it feels? To be treated like a fucking stray dog day and night? To be looked at like a murderer?" Kakashi stayed silent as Naruto continued. "You don't know me! You don't know my pain! It _is _how I fucking deal with it! I'm not a crybaby, I face the shit that gets thrown at me every day. You don't see me slitting my freaking wrists or jumping off random cliffs. I'm not a fucking coward!"

"I never said you were Naruto." Kakashi said softly. Naruto sneered.

"Whatever. It's not like you understand my pain… how it feels to be alone. Do you have any idea how it feels to be truly alone?! To feel like everyone on the fucking planet is on some scheme to screw you over? Like even the people who are close to you hate you?" The masked man thought over these words, then smiled.

"Actually, yes I do." Naruto pressed his lips together tightly. "I've been around a lot longer than you, Naruto. I've had my share of troubles. Everyone that was close to me, everyone I loved, is already dead. My teammates, my sensei, my parents, my friends, everybody." Kakashi walked towards a tree with his back facing Naruto. "You know, I felt the same way you did back then. I just wanted to be a true ninja, but it felt like people were just doing everything they can to pull me down. And so, I pushed them away. I needed to be better. I followed the rules to the T, and I would always get on others back if they didn't follow them. What happened?" He looked back at Naruto. "Well, two of my teammates died because of me. So, in a way, I killed them."

Naruto's expression soften, and he sighed. "Sorry." He muttered. Kakashi nodded and continued.

"And even today, I still just want to be a great ninja. And, yes, it still feels like everyone is against me. But I can't just dwell on those kinds of things, because that's what's keeping me from becoming great. And whenever I look at you, I can't help but think of my past self. You don't follow the rules of the book, and you don't try to be better than everyone else, like _someone_ we both know. But the way you're behaving and treating your teammates, it's nearly identical to how I used to act. I know you don't want to hear this, but I just want you to know that you're not the only one out there like this. Whether you actually decide to take this to heart or not is not my decision, so I'll leave that to you." Naruto thought for a moment.

"… You're parents died?" He finally asked. Kakashi nodded.

"Yeah. My dad killed himself because he didn't follow the rules of the ninja code. He thought that it made him a disgrace. And as for my mother, well, she passed away when I was young." Kakashi explained. "Even after all of this, I still became what I am today; your sensei." After a minute of silence, Naruto suddenly spoke.

"…. You know what, Kakashi?" Kakashi perked up. Looking up at his sensei, Naruto flashed a smile. "You're alright."

* * *

Sakura panted as she looked at how far she had gone up the tree. She had pretty much reached the top, and it had only been about 20 minutes since Kakashi and Naruto left. She grinned and mentally cheered for herself in her mind. Then she turned and saw Sasuke, whose progress wasn't even half of hers. She frowned and walked over to him.

"What do you want, Sakura?" Sasuke asked between pants. It was more of a snap than a question, but Sakura just ignored it.

"Want some advice?" She asked, not even bothering to put on her 'mask'. Sasuke glared at her, standing up straight.

"I don't need your help. Focus on yourself." With that said, he started up the tree again, only to fall back once more. Sakura huffed and turned around. Her inner self was fuming at this.

***Why does he always do that? I'm not even **_**trying **_**to flirt this time! I'm just trying to fucking help him! Jeez, if I had known that he was going to be this rude to me…***

"Bastard." She grumbled before sitting on the trunk of her tree. At that moment, Kakashi and Naruto came back. Sakura stood up and walked over to Kakashi.

"What now, Sensei?" She asked. Kakashi looked at her tree and whistled.

"Already up there? Nice work. At this rate and some more training, you might just be ready." Kakashi went on. Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Ready for what?"

"Oh, nothing. Go on Naruto, continue with your training. In about an hour or so, we'll call you all in for dinner. Sakura, why don't you go see if Tazuna needs help getting some supplies?" Sakura nodded and began heading back.

"While we're at it, you might as well rest a bit, Sensei." Sakura suggested. Kakashi nodded and went on. He turned around and looked back at the two genin.

"Come back in an hour. And when you do come back, come back in one piece. **(Haha, One Piece)**"

Sasuke and Naruto glanced at each other, then looked away. Naruto shook off some of the annoyance inside of him and focused his chakra to his feet. He took off at the tree, and was surprised when he ran up to where Sasuke stopped. He landed back on his feet. He could hear Sasuke's distant 'tsk!' in the background, but he decided to ignore it.

* * *

Sakura walked the streets of the town looking for a shop. She was sent by Tazuna to get some food for dinner. On the way there, she noticed how skinny and poor the people looked. There were little kids stealing from stores, and they had a gloomy feel to them. Sakura frowned at them.

***Is this what happened after the whole Gato incident? I heard that the town was wrecked, but I didn't think it'd be this bad.***

She walked into the small store. Or atleast, that's what it was called. It was so vacant and had little to no food in it that you could barely call it a store. She looked around and began getting the needed items, when she felt a hand grope her. She froze for a second, before nailing the man in the face with a spin kick.

"You PERVERT!" She screeched. The man fell to the ground and blood dripped from his nose. Sakura panted slightly, before looking around. Everyone was staring at her with wide eyes. She gulped and just grabbed her needed items. She tried to head to the man behind the counter, but he just kept telling her to take it for free out of fear. It made her feel… queasy.

While heading back to Tazuna's she once again, felt a hand touch her. She was about to kick him again, but decided to let him have a piece of her mind.

"Look, buster-!" She growled, before realizing that it wasn't a pervert, but a small boy. The scrawny kid held his hand hands out and tried to smile.

"Can… I have some?" His voice was hoarse and dry. He looked to be only 7 or 8. Sakura felt a wave of sadness hit her, and she decided to let him have some fish. The boy tried to laugh, but he just ended up coughing. Before running, he turned and said, 'thank you'. Sakura gave a small smile, before heading back to the house.

***… What's wrong with these people?***

* * *

Kakashi, Tazuna and team 7 were sitting down at the dining table, eating the food the family prepared for them. Tazuna gave a laugh.

"Man, it's been ages since we've had so many guests at our house." He laughed, chowing on his food. Kakashi sat silently as he watch his students, who were acting more silent than usual. Sasuke and Naruto were barely touching their food. Especially Sasuke. Naruto was atleast trying to eat the meal prepared. Sakura was eating fine, but she looked a little sad and distant. Finally, Sasuke pushed his food forward and stood.

"I'm going for a walk." Was all he said. Sakura looked back at him.

"Wait a minute Sasuke." She started. "These people made this for us, you have to atleast eat _some _of it. Not to mention that you won't get stronger on an empty stom-"

"Sakura, shut it." Sasuke grumbled, slamming the door. Silence fell on the group, and Naruto began forcing the food down his throat. Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter, looked at him worriedly.

"You don't have to strain yourself if you don't want to eat it." She said. Naruto waved her off and continued to force himself to eat. Sakura just shook her head and stood up. She headed towards a picture that hung on the wall. Part of the picture was torn by the edge, and it looked like there was someone else there.

"Um, Tsunami? There's a torn picture up here. Who was originally here?" She asked curiously, and no one answered. Inari stood up and left the room. Tazuna sighed and Tsunami went after him.

"Remember when I told you about the Gato Corporation. Well, there was this man called kaiza who-"

"He vowed to protect this village with both arms." Naruto interrupted. "He was the only one who stood up to Gato, and in the end got his arms smashed by some of his men."

"I also heard that he was executed in front of the whole village." Sakura chimed in. "What was he to Inari?"

Tazuna hummed to himself. "He was his stepfather. Inari and Kaiza were so close, and they did everything together. After that incident… I guess he still hasn't gotten over it yet." Naruto took a minute before standing up.

"Sakura-chan?" He asked and Sakura looked up. "Come with me." The kunoichi understood what he meant, and went with him out the door. Kakashi smiled. They were starting to get it.

* * *

Sasuke's foot once again smashed part of the tree and he fell back towards the ground. Looking up, he saw that he was almost at the top, and that he had long past Naruto's spot. It made him happy to see that he was getting stronger. He had to get stronger. To defeat _him. _

"Having fun?" A female's voice sounded. Sasuke whipped his head around to see Naruto and Sakura standing behind him.

"Why are you out here?" He asked with a dull expression.

"It's nothing really, I just thought a walk actually involved walking, that's all." Naruto replied sarcastically. Sasuke 'hmmph'ed.

"Don't 'hmmph' me." Sakura jumped in. "Listen, you're not going to get any stronger if you keep working yourself out like that." She informed him. Sasuke glared at her, but she didn't care anymore. "If you keep going on like this, you're going to pass out." Sasuke tried to head up the tree, but Naruto caught his collar and had him fall. "I get that you want to become strong, but-"

"You don't get anything, you worthless bitch." Sasuke suddenly spat, shoving Naruto off of him. The blonde kid stood up and glared daggers at Sasuke.

"HEY. Only I can call her that!" He exclaimed. Sasuke rolled his and continued.

"Sasuke."

He fell back down, and he went up again.

"SASUKE."

He fell again, and started to run up again.

"SASUKE-"

Naruto kicked him in the back of the head, knocking him out cold. His body flopped down and became still. It was completely silent except for the constant crickets that sounded throughout the forest. Naruto finally looked at Sakura.

"He's gonna kill me for that." He joked, and Sakura busted out laughing. Naruto joined in and they shared a moment of laughter.

* * *

Sasuke woke up the next morning with his head pounding. He sat up and looked around. He was back at Tazuna's house. What did he do last night again? He remembered eating dinner, leaving the house, training some more, and then….

_I'm going to kill him… _Sasuke thought. He walked out of the door, not even acknowledging Tazuna or Tsunami. He headed towards the training site and saw Kakashi and Sakura looking at Naruto who was sitting happily on the second branch of the tree.

"Well, it's good to see that you've improved. A little more work and you should be at the top in no tim-" Kakashi began, but was cut off by Sasuke who had started charging after Naruto. The prankster stuck his tongue out at him.

"Ne, teme, you can't reach me up here- HOLY SHIT!" He exclaimed when he realized that Sasuke had ran up the tree he was in. he jumped to his feet and began running up further as he tried to run away from the angry Uchiha. He panicked when he realized that he was at the top and there was nowhere to go. Sasuke made it to his branch and grabbed the front of his shirt.

"Got nowhere to run, dobe?" He threatened. Naruto flashed a nervous smile, when he heard Kakashi clapping.

"Well done, boys." He called out. They both looked down and realized that they had made it to the top without a problem. They both looked at each other awkwardly.

"Oh."

* * *

Team 7 sat at the table eating supper with Tazuno's family. Like the day before, there wasn't much discussion, and it still felt awkward in the room, but it wasn't as significant. Tazuno looked up from his plate.

"In a few more days, the bridge will be finished, and I thank you for that." He began. "Tell me something, how come you didn't ditch me for lying about the mission rank?"

Kakashi chuckled. "Those who stray from the path of justice have no courage, but under a strong leader, cowardice cannot survive. That is a quote from the first hokage."

"Geez, Uchiha, you didn't have to hit me so hard, damn…" Naruto groaned as he rubbed one side of his face. Sakura just giggled while shaking her head, and Sasuke didn't reply. Seeing these people, laughing and joking around with each other, reminded Inari of Kaiza. How much courage he had, and what he did to protect the village. A few tears strolled down his cheeks and he looked at Naruto.

"Why are you still here?!" He practically choked out. Naruto, who was pretty much half-asleep, looked up curiously at the kid. His face was turning red and it was wet with tears.

"What are y-?"

Inari slammed his hands on the table and stood up. "All this stupid training you guys are doing is just a waste of time! Gato has a whole army, and he'll crush you no matter what!" Tsunami tried to stop Inari, but he shoved her hand away. He began sobbing desperately, almost forgetting to breathe. "It doesn't matter what you do! The weak will always fall!" Sakura stared at the boy with sad eyes. He reminded her of the boy she saw at the market, almost. Naruto just sighed and leaned back in his chair. He snapped the chopsticks he had in his hand.

"Look, Inari, whatever happened to your father won't happen-"

"JUST SHUT UP!" He screamed, shutting Naruto up. "You are the one who pisses me off the most! You're always acting like everything's going to be okay now that you're here, but it's not! You're no different from the rest of the ninjas. You ninjas, always trying to save the day… you don't know what it feels like to truly suffer!"

The room went silent and Naruto stared directly at Inari. The boy hiccupped and choked on his cries, not even bothering to wipe his nose or eyes. He just let the tears and snot slide on his face. He looked pathetic in Naruto's eyes. Naruto suddenly lifted his goggles he had over his eyes and shot a glare at Inari. He slowly stood up and walked over to him, grabbing his shirt and lifting him off the ground. Kakashi got a little tense.

"You think you're special?" He growled at him. "Stop acting like your life has gone to shit. You act like a victim, but you know what you are? A fucking coward. You don't know how it feels to fucking suffer. You don't even know half of it. You're just a spineless, snot-nose kid who just wants fucking attention. And you know what? Fuck your dad. If he made you this much into a wimp, then I guess he wasn't so special after all." Sakura stood up and shoved Naruto.

"You went too far with that!" She exclaimed. Naruto dropped the sniffling child and walked past the group. "What is wrong with yo-?!"

"I'm done here."

* * *

Inari sat on the porch of his house with his knees pulled up to his chest. His eyes were sore from crying so much and his throat felt dry. He head footsteps and turned to see Kakashi standing there.

"Can I talk to you?" He asked. Inari nodded and the sensei sat down next to him. "You know, Naruto can be a little… difficult at times, but honestly, he doesn't hate you. Your grandfather told us about you. You might not know this, but Naruto didn't have parents either. He also didn't have many friends, if any." Inari let out a long sigh. "Because of this, he doesn't really like being around strangers, nor does he like being nice to others either. I can only imagined how he felt when he ahd to be put in a group. Unfortunately, neither of his teammates were very fond of him. Sasuke is sort of a lone wolf, and Sakura doesn't really understand him. Even so, I've never seen him 'give up' or sulk about it. He's sort of that kind of person who doesn't want to be judged by his cover."

Inari looked at Kakashi curiously. He then looked back down at his knees, biting his lip.

"I think Naruto knows, better than any of us, what you're going through. What Naruto told you earlier, as harsh as it sounded, is probably what he tells himself every day. My guess is he probably just got tired of crying, and decided to actually do something about it. I guess he's just done with being underestimated all his life."

Finally, Kakashi stood and left the boy to ponder what he had said.

* * *

At 8: 00 sharp in the morning, team 7 was already outside the small house, waiting to depart to guard the bridge. "Alright, are we all ready to go?" Kakashi asked the group. After confirmation, they set off to the bridge. Along the way, Sakura made her way to Naruto.

"Yo, idiot." She greeted and Naruto sneered. "What happened last night?" She asked curiously to him, and he just shook his head.

"It's nothing you would understand." He muttered.

"But you didn't have to yell at him like that. Do you even know what he's been thro-?"

"Fuck off, Sakura." He growled coldly, catching up to the rest. Sakura could here Kakashi sigh and shake his head. She huffed and crossed her arms. At least that's what she showed. But on the inside, she wanted to just hang her head and walk home to her parents. She wanted to understand how Naruto felt. She wanted to understand what Inari, or the boy at the market, were feeling. But she knew she couldn't. She lived a normal life, with normal parents, with normal interests. She knew she was spoiled. She had been told that a thousand times. But she almost couldn't help it. She never _understood _how it feels to not live a normal life. She could tell herself over and over again that she feels sorry for Naruto and how he doesn't have a family, but she doesn't know why to feel sorry. Nor does she know what he's been going through his entire life. And this made Sakura frustrated with herself. She thought about this so much, she started to lag behind from the group.

Back at the house, Inari walked around the house for a bit, still thinking about the night before. Was his life really so terrible, or did he just think it was? When his mother wasn't looking, he slipped into the woods. He wanted to see the trees team 7 had been training on. Half way there, he saw a sliced, bloodied up bore. He came to a stop and examined it. No one around here kills an animal and just leaves it, being how poor the town was. He got a bad feeling, and rushed back to his house. Just as he reached his house, a crash sounded. He busted through the door to see Tsuname being threatened by two creepy ninjas.

"MOM!" He called out, stepping into the house. Tsuname's eyes widened and she shook her head frantically.

"NO! Get out, Inari! Run away befo-" She tried to warn, but one of the ninja kicked her down.

"Hoh?~ A runt? How interesting." One snickered, taking out his sword. "Shall we take him too?" The other frowned.

"No. We were only told to bring one hostage." He said bluntly.

"Oh. Then… let's kill 'em!" The other laughed, showing the sword to the child. Inari began sobbing and cowering by the door frame. Tsuname came up and grabbed the pants of one of the kidnappers.

"WAIT!" She screamed at them. "Please… _please, _don't hurt my son… you can do whatever you want with me, but don't hurt my son. He's just a child…" She begged, tears beginning to form in her eyes. The men smirked at each other and grabbed her arm, tying her wrists behind her back. They pushed her out the door, leaving Inari behind.

He was sobbing and coughing into his hands. His voice was becoming weak from the amount of strain his throat had taken. He cried and cried, shaking like a wet dog. The tears just wouldn't stop falling, and he couldn't stop hiccupping. Then he heard a voice in his head.

_You think you're special? Stop acting like your life has gone to shit. You act like a victim, but you know what you are? A fucking coward. _

Inari sniffled, wiping his nose and eyes. He swallowed the lump in his throat and coughed. He felt his throat begin to burn and his stomach felt tight.

_You don't know how it feels to fucking suffer. You don't even know half of it. You're just a spineless, snot-nose kid who just wants fucking attention._

"Can I really do it?!" He asked himself. He ran his hands through his hair, making his hat fall off in the process. "Can I be strong like Naruto, or like you, dad?!"

There was no answer. Just a gush of wind that sent a shiver up his spine._ And you know what? Fuck your dad. If he made you this much into a wimp, then I guess he wasn't so special after all._

He looked up, with a look of determination, fear, anger, and sadness, all molded into one. "Dad…"

Tsuname was being pulled along by the men, when they heard the voice of the kid.

"Don't you TOUCH her!" He demanded, panting slightly as he stood proudly. One of the kidnappers laughed.

"Look at 'em! Comin' to save his mommy!" He teased. Inari inhaled and began charging at them, tears flying out of his eyes.

"Not too bright is he?" They chuckled, getting their swords out. Tsuname struggled madly and began hitting them. They easily knocked her out, making her fall unconscious. They swung at the boy, but there was a figure that came in front of him. The figure poofed into a log.

"A log?" One of them wondered. Suddenly, they realized something. "HEY! Where'd the brat go?!"

"You know, I've seen stupid, but I haven't seen two grown men look THIS stupid since I saw my parents talking with Ino-pig's." A femal voice sounded. They whipped around to see a pink haired ninja with red qipao dress. She had her hair pulled up into a pony tail, and was carrying Inari and Tsuname.

"Who's this bitch?" He asked angrily. Sakura flicked her hair to the side and smirked.

"My name is Haruno Sakura. I'm a beautiful kunoichi who is about kick you're your asses." She teased, sticking her tongue out. Inari looked at her.

"S-Sakura!? But- how did- when did-"

"ENOUGH TALKING!" Both of the ninjas screamed, charging at the girl. Sakura smirked and told Inari to get back. She reached into her pocket, and took out a few needles. They had bells attached to them. She threw two of the needles at them. They dodged it easily. "You'll have to do a lot more if you want to beat us, toots!" She threw three more. Once again, they dodged it. She then threw four needles, two with bells and two without bells. As they dodged the ones with bells, they moved just in time to get impaled by the soundless needles. As expected, they punctured into their necks, hitting a vital spot. They both tipped over slowly, before falling to the ground, clutching their necks.

Inari ran over to Sakura. "You did it!" He exclaimed, bewildered. Sakura flashed a smile at him. "How did you know they were here?"

"Oh, well first, I saw Naruto sniffing around curiously. It looked like he had smelled someone. Since I was lagging behind in the group, I decided to wander around a bit. I saw a few slash marks on the trees, heading straight back here. I told the others to head on back, and I told them I forgot something. Then, I saw them taking Tsuname away." She explained. Inari smiled happily.

"Wow… you guys ARE true ninjas!" Inari sniffled. Sakura ruffed up his hair a bit.

"And, sorry for Naruto yesterday. He didn't mean it. And even if he did, it's not true! You were so brave today!" She giggled. She frowned when she heard the boy hiccup. Inari began to cry.

"Darn it! I promised myself I wouldn't cry anymore… darn it!" He choked out, rubbing his wet eyes. Sakura sighed.

"Listen Inari…. Tears of joy are okay…" She told him, and he looked up. "I mean, what's wrong with being happy?" After a moment, they began laughing and joking around. Finally, before speeding off, Sakura called out. "It's okay to cry when you're happy! Honest!"

"S-sakura…" Inari said under his breath. He let the tears flow down his face, before looking up with a smile. "I'm… happy."

* * *

**Back at the bridge**

A hazy mist formed across the bridge. It was oddly similar to the mist they were in when they fought Zabuza. That's when it hit Kakashi.

"Sasuke! Naruto! Get ready!" He ordered, and the two circled up. Naruto readied his hand sign and looked back at Sasuke.

"This is Zabuza right? His hidden mist jutsu?" He asked. Sasuke gave a slight nod.

"He just couldn't wait for round two…" Kakashi muttered to himself. A voice came out from the fog.

"_Sorry to keep you waiting, Kakashi." _Sasuke began trembling just like before. A snicker came from all around them. "_I see you still have the kids. And that one's still trembling." _Sasuke's eyes widened when he realized that they were actually about 5 Zabuzas around the group. Sasuke smirked.

"I'm trembling with… _excitement."_ He said with a small chuckle. Kakashi smiled.

"He's all yours." With that, Sasuke took down all of the clones, having them all turn into water. He was glad that he could actually see the clones.

"Looks like the brat's improved. Seems Haku's got a rival now." Zabuza said as Haku and he showed themselves. In an instant, Haku and Sasuke began to clash. Kakashi turned to Naruto.

"Naruto! Cover Tazuna, and stay close to me! Let Sasuke handle this." Naruto nodded and got in front of Tazuna. He watched as Sasuke and the masked ninja fought. He noticed how much quicker Sasuke had become, and how hard he must've trained to achieve that. But it was not enough, and Naruto could see that clearly.

_**He's gotten stronger. But definitely not the strongest. Haku still has the upper hand in this battle, be on your guard, kit.**_

With incredible speed, Haku blocked Sasuke's attack. "Look, we want the bridge builder, not you. You're making a mistake. You won't be able to keep up with my speed."

"Oh yeah?" Sasuke went on.

"I've already blocked on of your hands, so you have only one to defend yourself with." Haku said. Making a hand sign, the water began to form around them. Sasuke and Kakashi's eyes widened.

_One hand?! _Kakashi and Sasuke thought together. Naruto cursed to himself as he watch the needles form from the water. He looked at Sasuke who was helpless, then tuned back in with Kyuubi.

**We need to do that again.**

_**Really, kit? To that Uchiha?**_

**Just do it.**

_**Ah, but kit, last time, you made contact with Sasuke while doing this. Do you have what it takes to do it now?**_

**I'll figure something out.**

Naruto made a hand sign and concentrated hard on his chakra. Kakashi looked over and his eyes 's chakra slowly flowed out of him and transered to Sasuke.

_The chakra transfer technique… but that's an advanced ninjutsu…! _Kakashi thought, amazed.

Sasuke felt the sudden increase of chakra and he scowled.

* * *

' "_**Sasuke!" Naruto called out throwing the large shuriken at Sasuke. When he grabbed it, he felt a wave of chakra enter him. He realized that it was Naruto transformed into a shuriken, and was giving him chakra from touch.**_

_**Later after the fight**_

"_**Oi, dobe." Sasuke muttered. Naruto looked back over Kakashi, who was hanging off his shoulder.**_

"_**Yeah?"**_

"_**Don't pull that shit on me anymore." Sasuke suddenly cursed, making Tazuna and Sakura look back. "I don't need your help."**_

"_**Well, I'm sorry if I actually want to survive!" Naruto spat back. Sasuke glared at him. "Face it Sasuke. You're strong, but not that strong. Get over it." Sasuke walked in front of Naruto.**_

"_**I didn't ask for your input. Just stay out of my business. I can handle myself."**_

"_**Why can't you just get over yourself and-"**_

"_**Just because you are weak and defenseless, doesn't mean I am, dobe."**_

"_**The fuck is that supposed to mean-"**_

"_**GUYS! Calm down!" Sakura butt in, cutting between the two. Naruto crossed his arms and huffed.**_

"_**I'm going for a walk when we get back." Sasuke just said before walking past the group. '**_

* * *

He did it again. Sasuke didn't want any help. He needed to achieve his power on his own. And the way to get power, was through hate.

Sasuke was able to get out of Haku's ninjutsu, and be able to go toe to toe with it. Zabuza suddenly snickered.

"If we go on like this, we'll be the victims instead of them. Get on with it." He told him. Haku nodded.

"I'm sorry it has come to this." Haku said. He made a sign, and ice mirrors started to form around him. Sasuke shivered.

"The air… is so cold." He said to himself. Naruto felt his hair stand up.

"Secret jutsu! Crystal Ice mirrors!" Suddenly, haku began stepping into one of the mirrors, becoming the mirror itself. Then, he appeared in every one of the mirrors. Kakashi ran after Sasuke, but was cut off by Zabuza.

"If you fight, you fight me." He demanded. Haku began throwing needles all around Sasuke, cutting him up harshly. Sasuke gave out a cry of pain, and Naruto heard it. He turned to Tazuna.

"Stay here and stay quiet." He whispered, before sneaking off. From afar, Naruto jumped in the air and threw shuriken at Haku, making a direct hit on him. Naruto smirked, but suddenly got a bad feeling.

_**KIT!**_

He was too late to turn around when Zabuza was behind him, and slammed him down with his foot. He fell at a large speed, until he dropped into Haku's ice chamber. He hit the ground next to Sasuke, groaning.

"Idiot. I told you not to interfere." Sasuke hissed. He slowly got up along with Naruto, who felt his arm go a little numb.

"Well, I'm here now."


	6. The Final Battle In The Hidden Mist

**Backstabbers**

* * *

**Ch. 6- The Final battle in the hidden Mist**

* * *

_**Kyuubi Speaking**_

**Naruto thinking**

"Someone speaking**"**

_Someone thinking_

'_**FlashBack'**_

**(Author's input)**

*****_**Sakura's inner conscience***_

* * *

"Alright… got a plan, Uchiha?" Naruto asked, wincing slightly. Before the other could reply, they were shot with a barrage of needles, all puncturing their skin one by one. Blood pricked out of their skin as they were knocked back down. Sasuke was drawing blanks. He had no idea how to deal with this Gekke Genkai. Being an Uchiha, he's supposed to be sharp and completely ahead of every enemy. But right now, he was absolutely clueless. And Naruto? Well, he's pretty sure that his arm is broken, and slowly becoming limp. Did he have a clue on what to do? Nope. But he'll be damned if he was going to let himself die in a room full of mirrors. He yanked the needles out of his arms, (which probably wasn't the best idea, mind you) and forced himself up.

**So… all of these are mirror clones, or whatever. Damn. These aren't just clones, are they Kyuubi?**

…

**Fine, don't answer me. I get it. Anyway, every single one is the exact copy of the other, and not to mention that incredible speed. Just what is this?**

"Look around all you'd like," The masked ninja started, drawing the attention of Naruto. "You'll never figure it out." His (Or her, depending on how naïve you are) voice was monotone, and it trailed through the entire room. It was hard to tell if he was trying to show remorse for the two ninja, or if he just didn't care about them at all. Whichever one, it didn't matter to either of them.

"I didn't ask for your input lady- or man, or whatever you are!" Naruto growled at her, before standing up. He formed a hand sign, (Which was very hard because his arm is broken, I remind you) and Sasuke's eyes widened slightly.

"Don't do it, dobe." He warned, but the other wasn't listening.

"Kage bunshin no justu!" He exclaimed, having clones appear around him. He could hear a distant 'tsk!' from the Uchiha. He charged at each mirror, but was cut and knocked back right next to Sasuke. He was expecting the uchiha to scold or lecture him, but it never came. He was just staring at the mirrors intently, as if he was watching a movie and he noticed some sort of glitch.

_I don't know what I saw… _Sasuke thought with wide eyes. Suddenly, they narrowed and got serious. "But I know I saw something." Naruto glanced over curiously.

"You saw something?" Naruto asked, a little strained. Sasuke nodded.

"Yes. When you ran, you accidently kicked up some water, and I could see it move and deform the water. I thing I get it now." He explained in a hushed voice. Sasuke then stood up boldly. "Can you do some more shadow clones for me? I wanna check something out."

"Sounds good to me." Naruto made a hand seal, (again, very painful.) and a bunch of shadow clones appeared. He charged towards the mirrors, but was practically shoved back by Haku, and the clones disappeared instantly. He rolled back and came to a stop near Sasuke.

"Nothing. Do it again." He ordered, making Naruto scowl.

"Can I get a please?"

"Just do it, dobe."

"Close enough." He once again charged at the mirrors, but was taken back once more. Something flashed in his eye. Naruto skidded back to a stop, this time he clutched his arm and groaned in pain. Sasuke cursed and bent down near him.

"Can you stand?" He asked, shaking his shoulder. Naruto struggled, but eventually made his way up. "Think you can go again?" The blonde shot a glare at the dark haired ninja, but sighed when he realized that he would not win this battle. He shakily began running once more, creating more clones that were destroyed in less than a minute. Sasuke knew what he had to do.

"Naruto, just one more time." He stated, trying to bring up his hurt teammate. Naruto coughed lightly and held his hurt arm. He tried to stand but fell right back down.

"I don't think I can…" He muttered, feeling a wave of fatigue hit him.

**Tired already?! What the hell…?**

_**Your power has drained since you used the chakra transfer technique, kit.**_

**Oh, so now you decide to talk to me.**

"Just one more time, that's it." Sasuke reassured him. Naruto let out a gruff sigh before forcing himself to his feet. Giving one last run, he sprinted off towards the mirrors with his clones. Just as he was taken aback, Sasuke used his Katon jutsu towards the misty air in the dorm. The fire singed the pants leg of Haku, who wasn't able to be seen before. Naruto came crashing down next to him once again, but this time he was able to see who the real Haku was.

"We got him…" Naruto mused, wincing in pain. Sasuke stood up quickly, getting ready to attack Haku if needed. He glanced back at Naruto.

"Get up, dobe." He demanded. Naruto shakily pushed his elbows against the ground, but collapsed instantly. As hard as he tried to keep his eyes open, they just forced themselves closed. But before he passed out, he would've sworn he saw something coming at him.

* * *

Naruto pried his eyes open and shot up, wincing at the pain that shot through his body. It felt like there were needles stuck in his right arm, and he couldn't feel anything in his left. He gave a look around. All he sees are mirrors, which is weird because he doesn't remember being near mirror-

Oh yeah. Zabuza and Haku.

It all came back to him, and he groaned in frustration. Now there was one more thing he had to worry about. Where the hell was Sasuke?

And then he saw him. He was sitting in front of him, and Haku was lying on the ground not too far from him. But that wasn't the shocking part. No, the shocking part was Sasuke in general… he was... well, to put it nicely, not in the best state. There were needles sticking out of his neck, and blood covered and trickled down his neck and shirt. Needles were also stuck in his arms and stomach. Naruto suddenly realized that he wasn't breathing, so he let out a loud, shaky sigh, catching the attention of the ninja in front of him. He slowly turned to Naruto, revealing that his eyes were hazy and foggy, like a dead man's. Naruto stared forward, trying to think of something good to say. Thinking that it wasn't the best idea, he decided to keep his mouth shut. There were no words to be said at this point. It was pretty obvious what was going to happen, and Naruto was praying to god that this was just some sort of dream he was having. But, it was no dream, of course. Sasuke gave a gruff cough, blood flying out of his mouth.

"Y-you… dumbass…." Sasuke muttered under his breathe. "… You really… like… to get in the way, don't you?" More coughing ensued, and Naruto gave a hollow chuckle.

"Hahhh…. I'm the dumbass…" Naruto said to himself. A frown came to his face as he stared at the ground. "…I'm the dumbass….Of course I am…" Sasuke's eyes closed, and he fell to his side without a sound. Naruto growled and stood up. He leered down at the Uchiha, who was barely alive.

"Yeah! I'm the dumbass! I'm the one who's unconscious right now! _I'm_ the one who's got a dozen needles stuck in his neck right now! Yeah! That's me! Uzumaki Naruto!" He yelled at the Uchiha. There was no reply. Just hoarse, staggered breathing. Sasuke was obviously still listening. It was able to be seen when a ghostly smirk came to the Uchiha's face.

"Haaahhh…." He breathed finally, still not opening his eyes. After a few silent seconds, he pried his eyes open and kept them locked on Naruto. "Oi dobe… just… don't die, alright?" Sasuke finally muttered before his eyelids fell, and his breathing was cut short. Naruto just fell to his knees and closed his eyes. He could hear Haku getting up, but he could care less right now.

"You know… you didn't have to do this…" He breathed. "You fucking didn't. I never asked you to do that… I NEVER ASK YOU!" His screams echoed throughout the chamber, but they fell on deaf ears. They were not heard. And if they were heard, they were forgotten. Silence was all that was there. Naruto let out a large breathe of air, before slamming his right hand on the ground. A shot of pain entered suddenly, but he didn't care. "Did you do this because I kept 'interfering' before?! If so, you took it damn too far! Damn… and just when I was starting to get used to you…"

Naruto couldn't call Sasuke a friend. Not a companion, not even a teammate. He's just someone he was forced to be with. He's just someone who likes to be such an ass to the group. It's not like he's actually done anything nice to either him or Sakura. That being said… why did this make him feel so _bad? _He's seen countless people die, bleed, break down, you name it. He's never felt any sort of remorse for them, or felt like throwing up after seeing it. So _why?! _Why the hell is this hurting so damn much!? WHY?!

"Ah… is this the first time you've seen a friend die?" Haku's gentle voice echoed through the chambers suddenly. Well, it sounded gentle. Right now, Naruto felt like it was a huge middle finger to his face. "Don't you understand? _This _is what it means to be a ninja. Whether you like it or not, everyone who is close to you will soon die. We are just tools for someone with greater power."

_Why am I so angry right now? I haven't been this angry since… _

_**Look at you. Crying over a stupid Uchiha. What kind of vessel are you?**_

_I'm not cryin-…. Holy shit. I'm actually crying…_

That's right. There were tears flowing down his face. Real, actual, legitimate tears. What sort of bullshit. _I haven't cried in years. I gave up crying a long, long time ago. I'm Naruto. I'm fucking Uzamaki Naruto. I don't cry… I can't cry…_

_**But you are. Like the weak, pathetic, spineless excuse for a ninja you are. So, the uchiha's dead, what are you going to do now?**_

…

"At least he died an acceptable ninja." Haku finished. The last sentence hung in the air for a while. And all that while, Naruto sat there staring at the ground. Thinking… thinking… thinking…

A wave of smoke rose in a haze around Naruto suddenly. Slowly, but suddenly. Haku stared curiously ahead at the silent boy. Something wasn't right. This didn't seem like any ordinary ninja. The blonde one slowly looked up towards haku, who probably felt a thousand shivers run up and down his spine. What was seen was two crimson orbs locked on his mask. His pupils were formed into two sharp black diamonds. Those six fine whiskers on his face were bolder and darker, which matched his newly acquired fangs that were prominent in his mouth. Both his goggles and headband slipped off his body, falling to the ground carelessly. A burst of red chakra escaped his body, and encased him in a blaze.

Haku desperately tried to look away from the demon, but his stare was too overpowering to simply look away from. The tears that used to be on his face had evaporated, and his eyes were replaced with angry ones… no, _pissed off _ones. And while this transformation was happening, the chamber was filled with uneven breathes and pants. These pants suddenly turned into growls and hisses.

"….I-I…" His voice suddenly sounded with strain and full of malice. Haku leaned back into the mirrors, becoming sucked into his gekkei genkai. "… I-I….I'm….I'M GOING TO KILL YOU." He snapped. It was in a hushed voice, not a screaming voice. But to be honest, it wouldn't have mattered if he had screamed it or not in the end. The message was clear enough by his appearance.

_This isn't a child anymore… _Haku thought to himself, feeling a wave of fear engulf him. _This is a monster!_

Naruto stepped over Sasuke, taking a few staggered steps towards the hunter ninja. He slowly bent down and got on all fours, eyes never straying from his target. Haku readied his needles, waiting for his attack. Without warning, Naruto threw his head back and let out an ear splitting howl that shook up the mirrors and ground. Outside of the mirrors, Zabuza and Kakashi stared off at the scene beforehand. Kakashi stared wide eyed at the mirrors, trying to understand if this was a part of the illusion, or if one of them were actually making the noise.

_That noise… could that be… Naruto? _Kakashi did a mad dash towards the scene, but was cut off by Zabuza. He clicked his tongue teasingly.

"Ah, ah, ah… We're not finished yet." He laughed, but was halted by the maddening howl that seemed to get louder and louder by the minute. He looked back at the chamber and saw a vibrant fiery chakra was seeping out of it. _What the hell is that?!_

The chakra spun like a tornado, and it looked so fierce, like it could swallow them whole in seconds.

* * *

**On the path to the bridge**

Sakura sprinted towards the bridge, keeping a close eye out for more assassins. It was pretty obvious that Zabuza had returned. It was also obvious that he sent those kidnappers after the boy's mom. Therefor she needed to keep extreme caution.

But a howl ran through the air and into her ears, stopping her dead in her tracks. It was the type of howl that sounded… inhuman. It sounded painful and angry, like if a werewolf was abandoned by his pack. Nearby bystanders clutched their ears and complained about what 'monster' could have made such a noise. Some even said that it sounded like a 'demon'. But that's not what ran through Sakura's ears. This wasn't a monster, or a demon for that matter. Sakura didn't know what it was. All she knew was that it sounded… sad. Whatever beast that was making that sound must have seen something devastating. The howl lasted for a good few minute, and while everyone around her was holding their ears for dear life, Sakura stood there and listened. She listened to the anger and pain of the call, and once it ended, she didn't dare to wipe the lone tear that was dripping slowly from her face. She took a deep breathe, and continued her way to the bridge.

* * *

**Back in the mirrors**

Naruto hung his head after the call, silence swarming over once more. Just as Haku let his guard down, Naruto began sprinting at lightning speed towards him. He ran on all fours, yet his speed was ten times that of a humans. Haku jumped out of his mirrors just in time before Naruto could strike. However, he was shocked when he felt his sleave being grabbed and yanked backwards.

_What?! No! How did he catch up that quickly?! _Haku wondered frantically as he was thrown with immense strength towards the mirrors, shattering it in seconds. But Naruto caught up just in time to grab Haku by his collar, and land a punch in his face. The masked man fell to the ground slowly, farther and farther and farther until he finally hit the ground. Naruto perched himself on the top of one of the mirrors, still on all fours. He leered down at the man, whose mask had been broken from the punch. Haku stared up at the sky with cold eyes. He was beaten, and now he had to pay the price.

Naruto then sprinted down the side of the mirrors, using his training from Kakashi, and charged at Haku.

_This is it… I'm done, Zabuza. In the end, I failed. I'm just no match for this… demon…_

A few steps before him, Naruto suddenly rose to his feet. He held his claws up high above his head, and glared down at Haku. He was about to swing. If he tried hard enough, he might be able to knock his head clean off his body. Haku braced himself, waiting for the swing that never came. He slowly opened his eyes, and saw that Naruto was standing over him, glaring down at him with killer eyes, but two arms were locked around his, holding him back. Haku rose his head to get a better view. He saw a young pink haired girl, holding Naruto's arms back as he struggled for her to release him.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Naruto growled at her. Sakura didn't answer. She just held his arms back, with incredible strength no one knew she had. Haku's eyes widened.

_Is she… holding him down? With such strength… To have an uchiha, a demon, and now her?! What is this team that Kakashi has…? _Haku thought frantically, but he kept a calm and collected face.

_**Oi, kit. Just knock them out, you have all the energy in the world to do it.**_

Naruto bared his fangs, ready to do exactly what Kyuubi said. He looked over his shoulder and froze. This was not Zabuza, or kakashi, or a random assassin or something. This was… Sakura?! And she's…. crying…?

Her face was red and soaked with tears, and her arms were obviously strained enough by the pulling. Naruto stared at her with bewilderment. Were these tears… for him?

**No. This is Sakura we're talking about here. She probably found Sasuke's corpse. Yeah, that has to be it.**

"You… were the one… w-who made that howl?" She suddenly whispered, so quietly that only Naruto's sharp ears could here. He stopped his struggles, but Sakura still held on tight. Naruto's fangs shortened to regular human sized ones, and his claws had returned to normal. Silence hung in the air for a minute, before he swallowed hard.

"Yeah." He could tell that his eyes had returned to their normal sapphire ones, and that the red chakra was seeping back into his body. He could hear Kyuubi cursing him out in his head, but he droned it out. Once Naruto was back to his old self, Sakura then, hesitantly, let his arms go. Her arms were red from the pressure, and they were also probably strained. They didn't speak for a while, but Naruto suddenly broke the void with a small chuckle. "I, uh, didn't know you had that much strength." His voice was shallow and quiet, but it was easy to see that the old Naruto was back. Sakura sucked in a big breathe before letting it out loudly.

"Yeah, I didn't either, you ass." She replied, making a melancholy smile. Naruto returned it as well, making this the first time they were legitimately happy to see each other. But the moment didn't last very long as a certain hunter ninja was still alive. Just barely, but still alive.

"Why did you stop him?" Haku whispered, catching both of their attention. "For what I did to your comrade… how will you take vengeance now? Was your comrade… that insignific-?" A punch shut him up. It wasn't as strong as the last ones, but it knocked Haku out. Sakura and Naruto stood there, waiting for the other to say something. Naruto knew that Sakura wanted answers, and with a sad sigh and closed eyes, he pointed towards the broken mirror chamber, and she walked there.

She knew what Haku meant. And when she saw the body from a distance, she prayed to god that it wasn't what she thought it was. But it was what she thought it was. She walked slowly over to Sasuke and stood over him. She examined every, EVERY, single wound. She was hoping that if she stared at him long enough, that suddenly it would poof into a log, or it would be another one of Kakashi's illusions. No. It wasn't. Her knees buckled and she dropped to the floor, having no more feelings in her legs. She stared down at Sasuke for a few minutes. She opened her mouth as if to say something to him, but then closed it. Opened it, and then closed it. Opened… then closed.

Back with Haku, Naruto held the Kunai high above his head. He leered down at Haku for a second, and then swung the kunai down towards his head. Just before he could finish his job, the man suddenly grabbed the kunai and held it firmly. Naruto growled and tried to force the kunai down, but Haku began making some hand signs.

"I'm afraid I'm not ready to die yet." He said calmly, shoving Naruto off him.

"Well, _I'm afraid _that I'm not finished with you yet-"Naruto began, but Haku disappeared instantly. It was that moment that his ears suddenly picked up the sound of an electric jutsu. It almost sounded like… like lightning?

Naruto's eyes widened and he turned towards the battle between Kakashi and Zabuza. When he saw Haku in front of the blast, and Kakashi's arm through his chest, he sighed and ran back into the mirror chamber, understanding what he meant.

Naruto came up behind her with his arms crossed, keeping his mouth closed for good. Sakura slowly leaned forward and rested her head on Sasuke's chest, sobbing quietly to herself. Naruto raised a brow when Sakura's sobs suddenly died down and was replaced with silence. Sakura looked up and stared at Sasuke with teary, but analyzing eyes. Finally, a smile came to her face.

"He's alive." She stated quietly. Naruto must have looked like such an idiot when she said this, because his mouth dropped slightly open, and his head was cocked slightly to the left. After blinking stupidly for a minute, he regained his composure and kneeled by Sakura.

"H-he is?" Naruto stuttered at her. Sakura nodded happily, giving Sasuke a small hug.

"Yes! He's got a heartbeat!" She laughed. The laughter died down and she got serious. "It's a weak heartbeat, buts it's there, nonetheless." Naruto glanced at Sasuke, then at Sakura. He quickly reached into his pouch and brought out some medical supplies.

"You know medical ninjutsu?" He asked as he was getting the items. Sakura blinked before nodding slowly.

"I, um, know a little bit-"

"Good, 'cause I don't." He chuckled. Sakura thought for a moment, then turned to Naruto.

"Naruto, go help sensei out. I got this covered!" She ordered. Naruto was about to say something smart, but quickly decided against it when he heard laughter coming from outside. Stepping up, he ran out of the chamber only to run into a rather short and overweight man with dark shades over his eyes. Recognizing him immediately, Naruto glared at him.

"Gato." He hissed, causing a small snicker to come out of the man.

"Hah, yes, that is me, boy." He answer, before turning back to Zabuza. His bandages were practically hanging off of him, and blood ran down his head, almost as bad as Sasuke look. Kakashi didn't look much better. Naruto never thought that his hair could look any messier, and he looked like he could keel over any second now.

Zabuza stared forward with blank eyes at Gato, who was poking the corpse of Haku with his cane. Naruto snuck over and kneeled next to Kakashi.

"What the hell is going on?" He whispered. Kakashi kept quiet for a second before shaking his head.

"Just watch." He answered. Gato wasn't the only one who was there. He might as well have brought an army, because there were about a hundred of them there. Standing right before Zabuza.

"There's been a change in plans, Zabuza. You see, the plans now involves… well, you're head on a platter." He randomly sneered. Zabuza's eyes widened at this, and he growled.

"Yeah, you see, you waste too much of my money. So I decided to cut you off the rate. But of course, these guys cost quite a bit too. So if you don't mind, your last dying deed can consist of wiping out some of these men before I have to pay. Or, perhaps that would be too much for the famous demon of the mist." He snorted and started laughing maniacally. "Yeah, right. You look as dangerous as that blonde kid over there!" Naruto opened his mouth to speak, when Kakashi slapped a hand over it. He held a finger of his mask. The blonde rolled his eyes, which happened to land on a rather freaked out Tazuna. Kakashi must have seen it too, because he motioned him to get him. While Gato seemed to go on and on about Zabuza and Haku, Naruto snuck over to Tazuna who, for some reason, seemed to get even more freaked as he got closer. Trying to keep quiet, Naruto kept a decent distance from him.

"Yo, old man. It's safer in the chamber with Sakura and Sasuk-"

"KEEP YOUR DISTANCE!" He screeched, staggering and falling to the ground. Kakashi and Zabuza turned towards the scene, and to a completely baffled Naruto.

"Uh, old man. I'm tryin' to keep it on the down low. Kakashi and I just think you need to-"He tried to whisper, but Tazuna scrambled farther away. His face was a mixture between complete fear and utter disgust.

"J-just stay away! Y-you demon child!" He spat, making Naruto freeze in place. After a moment to regain his composier, Naruto took a small step forward. It was subtle. Not a very big step, but not too small to where he didn't move anywhere. Despite this, Tazuna jumped to his feet and held his hands out in front of him in a defensive manner. "I SAID STAY BACK! I-I… I may be an old drunk waste… but I-I'm not yo-you….A freak of nature…" Naruto closed his mouth and listened closely to his words. All the while, Gato was snickering to himself. "Did you see what you were?! What possessed you?! You weren't just angry… you were going to kill him weren't you?! If that little girl hadn't stopped you, you would've lost control, right?! That kind of power is not natural! I knew something was up with you from the beginning! You're not just some kid… you're a MONSTER!" Naruto went silent as Tazuna panted slightly, staring at him with wide eyes.

Gato broke the silence with a hardy laugh. "A demon child? A MONSTER?! Do you know what a demon child is, old man?! Not that fluffy kitten you're talkin' to! HAH! That kid couldn't hurt a fly, and you're over there tremblin' like you've seen the devil himself!" More laughter ensued as Tazuna shook like a wet dog, and Naruto stared blankly off into space. Zabuza caught his attention, though.

"A demon, huh?" The assassin started with a smirk. "Us, as ninjas, we're all demons. Inside and out. We are just tools, pawns for someone with greater power." His smirk fell into a deep frown, as if lost in thought. "Who gives a damn about that brat? He's no different from you and me in the end, just acts a bit different…" Zabuza turned and saw Tazuna and Naruto staring at him. "What? You surprised that I actually have _feelings_? That I have emotions other than blood thirst?" He asked with a sneer, before turning back to Tazuno. "You're words cut deep, deeper than any sword. Even shinobi, even ninjas like that brat, are human. Even if we try to escape it. All shinobi will fail to become inhuman… or… at least, I have failed." Naruto stared blankly, before giving a small nod. Out of nowhere he threw his kunai at him, and Zabuza caught it with ease. Tazuna glared at Naruto.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" He snapped. Naruto gave him a bored look.

"You said it. I'm a _demon, _after all." He said with discontent. Zabuza put the kunai in his mouth, and charged at Gato. The army of thugs came at him, but he dodged them with lightning speed. Using just the Kunai and his bare fists, he ripped most of the men to shreds, leaving the void to be filled with screams of agony and misery. Gato scrambled out of the crowd until he reached a dead end, and Zabuza was right behind him. Without warning, he grabbed the front of his shirt and slashed his neck wide open. Gato gasped and struggled madly, throwing his arm up and motioning his army (well, what was left of them). Five men came behind Zabuza and shoved their spears into his back. He gagged in pain, coughing up more blood.

Gato winced in pain and glared at Zabuza, "What the _hell are you doing?! _If… you want to join… you're friend, go ahead and do that! BUT! You… are NOT taking me... with you!" He gagged, coughing up more blood with each sentence. Zabuza chuckled, and staggered towards him with the spears sticking out awkwardly from his back.

"N-no… Where Haku is going… I can't follow… I'm going somewhere I belong… they say that many demons stay there too! Seems to be appropriate! A fitting end to the demon of the mist…. Won't you agree!?" He snapped suddenly. Gato then realized that there wasn't just anger and insanity in the eyes of the man before him… but sorrow… nothing but pure, pure sorrow. Zabuza gave a hollow chuckle.

"But _you… _Gato… you… you will be going to a much, _much, _MUCH more painful eternity! SEE YOU IN HELL, GATO!" That was the end. With one more slice of the kunai, and one drop towards the vast water, that was the end of Gato. The whole lot of the army was dead silent, all confused and baffled on what to do next. Zabuza turned slowly, and began to stagger and stumble his way over to the corpse of his companion… no… his _friend…_ Haku… unfortunately, he didn't make it that far. Halfway there, Zabuza collapsed.

But then… it was bright. All Zabuza could see was a beautiful, golden hue that was surround by rays of white. Where was he? He had no idea where he could be… but then he saw Haku… right in front of him. He had that innocent smile painted on his face, and he was wearing his kimono, and he didn't have his mask on. He just stood there… and stared. Zabuza smiled… he actually smiled genuinely for the first time in his life.

"So… this is goodbye…. At long last." He muttered, just loud enough for the other to hear. He looked up suddenly. "In all these years… I've never thanked you… Forgive me for that, at least…" And then it was over. He dropped out of the bright scene, and he was back to reality. The real world. The bridge. _His fate. _

Seeing the bloody figure of the former assassin, Tazuna turned his head and threw up to his side. Naruto sneered.

"Don't look away, _old man." _Naruto hissed in anger. Tazuna looked up in question. "When you live like a warrior, whether you like it or not, this is how it ends. No objections. But, hey, what do I know?" Naruto shrugged turning away from Tazuna, and folding his arms over his chest. "I mean, I'm just a monster."

* * *

**Back in the chamber**

Thump, thump…

… _Am I… dead…?_

Thump, thump…

_No… I'm not. I'm alive… but how the hell…?_

Thump, thump…

_Someone's over me… looking down at me… but all I see are figures… Wait… is that… Sakura?_

Sakura hovered over him, sweat was all over her forehead. When Sasuke finally opened his eyes, Sakura gave him a smile. Unable to contain her happiness, she grabbed him and hugged him, completely disrupting his wounds. He winced and hissed in pain.

"S-sakura! You're… not helping!" He gasped. Sakura let him go and smiled.

"You almost died… I saved you…" She breathed, tears forming back in her eyes. Sasuke thought for a moment, before shooting his head up (Which hurt quite a lot, considering he still had a lot of injuries.).

"Wait! What happened to Nar-"

"Naruto… he…" Sakura thought for a moment, looking outside sadly. "He… defeated Haku…" Sasuke's eyes widened and he stared at her.

"H-he did?!" Sakura wanted to laugh, never seeing Sasuke show so much emotion.

"Y-yeah… he's outside… I think it's safe to go out now…" Sakura said. Sasuke wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and stood up. Shakily, but he got there. They stumbled outside slowly.

"Naruto!" She called. Naruto whipped his head in her direction. She laughed and waved her arm. "Check it out! Sasuke's alive! See?!" Naruto looked and was actually surprised. He didn't expect Sakura to actually be able to save him… let alone get him to walk. He didn't know what to say at this point, so he just gave a sort of half wave. Sasuke gave him a look and returned the wave. Kakashi gave a smile through that mask of his. Things were starting to look up. But of course, good things don't last for very long with team 7. The lot of thugs started laughing at the team.

"You really think that because we don't have Gato that we won't take over the village?! First we'll wipe out you guys, and then we'll take this village for ourselves!" One of them laughed at them. Kakashi and Naruto growled, realizing that they used up too much chakra to fight. Sasuke was still injured, Tazuna's useless, and Sakura probably wasted too much energy saving Sasuke. One of the thugs stepped forward with his spear, ready to kill everyone in the area, when out of nowhere, an arrow shot and punctured him right in the chest. Everyone turned and saw that the shooter was Inari, with his crossbow… and that he had the entire village behind his heals. Sakura smiled.

"Inari!" She exclaimed happily. Naruto raised a brow.

"Damn, wasn't expectin' that…" He muttered.

One of the villagers smirked and held up a sword, "If you want the village, you'll have to take us all out!" Inari smirked and held up his crossbow.

"And that means ALL of us!" He laughed. Naruto grinned and looked at Kakashi.

"Well, I think I can help out a bit here!" Forming the hand sign (Which was EXTREMELY difficult, since his arm was very, very broken) he formed a bunch of clones that surrounded every thug. Kakashi sighed and did the same.

"I guess I bring enough chakra to help you out." He said, as the clones formed. There were hundreds of clones that surrounded the thugs. A smirk formed behind Kakashi's mask. "So… you still want the village?"

You can guess what happens next. They, of course, surrendered and left without another word. The village cheered for its victory, and decided to celebrate for themselves. And just like that, one by one, the villagers left the scene. They didn't even care for the masked man or the assassin, nor did they thank the ninjas that protected them. They just went off to celebrate, as if _they _were the ones who fought for their lives. But who can blame them, they're not shinobi, after all.

The mist soon cleared up, and team 7 were reunited at last. But it was halted by the raspy voice of a near dead warrior.

"K…Kak…ash…iiii…." He groaned. The team looked over and saw that it was Zabuza, looking over at them. Kakashi walked over to him. "I… guess that's the end…" His voice was low and hoarse, and it strained him to even speak.

"Yeah…" Kakashi answered.

"Hey… can you do… me one last favor…?" He mumbled.

"What is it?"

"….Take me to him… I want to be with him… in the end…" There was a long pause.

"Yeah." Kakashi agreed, picking up Zabuza slowly. Team 7 stayed quiet, and watched as he brought the man to the corpse of his friend. Kakashi set him down gently. Zabuza turned and look at Haku's peaceful face. Despite his life being drained away, a lone tear had fallen down his cheek.

"I… I know… I cannot be with you… up there… but… at least… I can be with you… now…" He said, gasping for air in between. "I never… thanked you for… staying with me… please… forgive me… I just wish… that I could… go there… with you…"

Snow. Pure snow had started to fall. Just small shimmers of white fell gently on top of them, and the whole team didn't question it. They just stayed silent out of respect for the two.

"Are these… your tears… Haku…?" Zabuza questioned at the snow. With all his might, he struggled to get him arm to move. Finally, he rested his hand on Haku's cheek. He didn't move it. "I guess… this is goodbye… Haku…"

Team 7 worked together to bury the two bodies, and even made graves for them. It was all they could do at this point. No one asked questions, because there were no answers. They knew that.

After the whole situation was done and over with, the group got themselves to a hospital. They were treated and after a week, they were allowed to leave back to leaf village. Before they left, Tazuna came up to them.

"I have no idea how to thank you guys for all you've done. And now that the bridge has been built, I think that I'll give it a name..." He started. At this point, the team didn't really care about the bridge anymore. The scene with Zabuza and Haku still seemed to bum them out. But Tazuna didn't care.

"Hmm... how about... the Great Kakashi Bridge! Has a nice ring to it!" He laugh. Kakashi chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. The team turned to leave, but halfway across the path, Naruto turned back at Tazuna. He was giving him those cold eyes. Those cold eyes that everyone at the village gives him. He shrugged it off, but for some reason, that stuck with him. It almost... hurt. Sakura saw that hurt look on him, and decided to keep her mouth shut the entire trip back. Sasuke didn't have much to say either... in fact... he almost seemed... pissed off? Sakura couldn't understand why, but Kakashi knew exactly why Sasuke was mad. And he didn't like where it was going.

They collected their rewards for the mission, and left on their everyday lives as ninja. But one day after the mission, Kakashi held the papers in his hands. After seeing the work that the three ninja accomplished over the mission, it was clear to see that he wasn't just dealing with ordinary genin. He looked at the sign up forms for the chunin exams, and he understood that it was time.


	7. Chunin Exams (Part 1)

**Backstabbers**

* * *

**Ch. 7- The Chunin Exams (Part 1)**

* * *

_**Kyuubi Speaking**_

**Naruto thinking**

"Someone speaking**"**

_Someone thinking_

'_**FlashBack'**_

**(Author's input)**

*****_**Sakura's inner conscience***_

* * *

It had been a few weeks since the whole Zabuza incident. Everything was all settled and over with. Of course, they decided to lay off on the b rank missions, and stick to c ranked ones. Sasuke had kept some scars from the fight with Haku, and Naruto would sometimes get light headed when he saw that. He wouldn't show it though. The only one who knew about this was Kakashi, and he decided to leave him alone for a while. Naruto never let Kyuubi take control over him like that, nor had he gotten so emotional for that to happen. So he was still a little frustrated with what happened. After a few calm weeks, Kakashi decided that it was time to step them up to the next level. But that doesn't mean he was going be on time for it.

"I honestly don't know why the hell he gives us a set time, then show up late?!" Sakura complained loudly, pacing back and forth. Naruto rolled his eyes lazily.

"Just drop it." He muttered while rubbing his eyes, giving a small yawn. Sakura shot a glare.

"Oh yeah?! You JUST showed up, dumbass!" She snapped. Naruto gave a small chuckle.

"Well, if he's always so late, then why should I show up on time?" He smirked, but it faded quickly. "Are you on your period? You seem bitchier than normal."

"Oh, Haha! I'm laughing so hard!" She growled.

"Yup, definitely a period." He mumbled. Sakura jumped up and began arguing with him. Meanwhile, Sasuke was feeling more irritated than usual. He actually had to hold himself back from just knocking both of their heads in and knocking them out cold right then and there. But before he could, Kakashi showed up with three slips of papers.

"About damn time." Sasuke mumbled under his breathe. Kakashi gave a fake smile.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, I got lost on the path of-"

"No one cares, Sensei." Naruto butt in, crossing his arms. Kakashi noticed that the team had changed their outfits after the mission in the land of waves. Sakura now wore a light red zip up jacket, paired with black shorts. She wore dark calf high boots, and black gloves **(Think of Karin's outfit, if you have trouble picturing it). **Naruto now wore a dark shirt paired with a rusty orange sleeveless jacket, and he wore a dark pair of pants, with his usual goggles and head band. Sasuke outfit didn't change much. Instead of black shorts, he now had grey ones. And Kakashi made Sasuke bring his headband every day, as if he wasn't grumpy enough. He wore a dark, collared shirt, but instead of his original one, the Uchiha symbol was now on the front of the shirt.

"Well, you all are looking nice this fine morning." Kakashi chuckled while the team glared daggers at him.

"Are you kidding me?! I didn't even have time to wash my hair!" Sakura groaned, pointing at her limp hair. Naruto leaned against the wooden post.

"I had time to wash _my_ hair, you know." He added while smirking, throwing his arms behind his head. Sakura slowly turned around and leered at Naruto. Sensing a fight coming, Kakashi jumped in between the two.

"Let's not get feisty so early. This won't take long, so you can hold yourselves for a few minutes." Sakura and Naruto settled down and listened to Kakashi. He handed them three sheets of paper. "I've decided to sign you up for the chunin exams."

"Really?" Naruto muttered, looking at the papers. Sakura raised a brow.

"The chunin exams? This early?" She asked, reading over the slips of paper. Kakashi nodded.

"I can't deny that I have high hopes for you three. Of course, the exams are voluntary. If you really feel like you are not ready, you can back out. Well, it's all up to you now!" Kakashi suddenly said before poofing away. Sasuke held the sheet of paper up and scoffed.

"Well, I'm going." He said. Naruto looked at him (More at his shirt than anything, since most of those death reminding scars were on his face. And what a lovely shirt it was...).

"You better. If one of us decides not to go, we all get held back. It's something they do to screw over teams who have cowards on their squads." Naruto informed. Sakura huffed.

"Who does he think he is? Waking us up just to give us application slips?!" Sakura hissed angrily. She flicked her pink hair from her shoulder and turned on her heel. "I'm going to freakin' train." She stomped off, crumpling the paper in her hand as she did. Naruto crossed his arms and walked away.

"Are you going?" Sasuke asked suddenly, catching Naruto off guard.

**Uchiha never talks to me, what's he up to?**

"Uh, yeah." Naruto replied awkwardly (Once again staring at that lovely shirt he was wearing). After a minute, he spoke again. "You know, uhh… I guess I never really thanked you for saving my ass back in the chamber." Sasuke blinked and shrugged.

"Hmph. It didn't mean anything." Once he said that, Naruto sensed a weird vibe coming from the Uchiha. He noticed that he seemed… pissed off while saying that. Taking the hint, Naruto made sure to leave Sasuke to himself for a while. While walking home, he decided to channel in Kyuubi.

**Okay, now he's mad at me. Why the hell is he so damn moody?**

_**Well, if push comes to shove and he decides to hurt you, you can always rip his smug head off his body.**_

**Okay, droning you out now, Kyuubi-**

"Oof!" Naruto bumped into someone, making the person fall over.

**Woops.**

"HEY! What the hell is your problem?! Watch where you're going, asshole!" A young kunoichi growled, standing up immediately.

She had blonde hair, but it wasn't as golden as Naruto's. It was pulled up into a crazy hairstyle, and she had a fierce look on her face. She wore fishnets paired with a white shirt and a white skirt tied together with a red sash. Naruto rolled his eyes at the girl.

"Well, I'm sorry princess. I didn't realize that I was stepping on a new territory. Speaking of territory, you're from the sand village, no?" He asked, noticing the different symbol on her headband that was tied around her neck. The girl scoffed and crossed her arms.

"Why, yes I am." She smirked, looking him up and down.

"I assume you're here for the chunin exams, or at least I hope you are. That fan looks pretty dangerous, you know." Naruto couldn't help but notice the giant fan that was attached to the sash on her back. She nodded and held up her permission slip. He grinned slyly and lifted up his slip.

"Well, it's nice to see that you're not living under a rock like everyone else. Seems that whenever I mention the chunin exams, everybody turns into complete dumbasses and asks questions."

"Obviously, seeing the leaf village isn't known for its intelligence after all." Naruto snickered. The girl joined in with the small laughter. It quickly died down.

"You seem smart enough to make it through the exams, so I'll let you in on a little secret. Don't mess with my team. Let's just say that we're a force to be reckon with." She explained with a sly grin before turning on her heel and strutting off. Naruto grinned back.

"Same goes for you. My team might be stupid, but we're not meant to be underestimated, you know."

"I'll see you in the exams then!" She laughed. Naruto shook his head while chuckling before walking off to his home. It was only when he was half way home when he realized he had forgotten to ask her for her name.

* * *

The next day, the team turned in their application slips and left for the exams. They decided to just meet up at the academy instead of just walking together. When they met up, they headed into the academy and they were greeted with watching two genin getting beaten to a pulp. One of the victims looked like a normal kunoichi with brown hair and a pretty face, and the other looked like a train wreck in a jumpsuit. Two chunin ninja were blocking the path into the 'third' floor. Or at least that's what it appeared to be.

"Look, kid. This is the chunin exams. You think what I'm doing is harsh? Then you'll think the exams are like hell in comparison. You see, you'll either have one of three circumstances. Being scarred for life, being embarrassed like hell, or being murdered brutally. It's just how it is-"

"Can you just fuck off already?" Naruto snapped, bringing the attention onto him. He heard whispering going on around him, but he just ignored it and shoved his hands in his pockets. The chunin smirked and crossed his arms.

"OH? We have a brave little squirt, don't we?" The other chunin laughed. This time Sasuke stepped up.

"Just drop the act and let us through. We know that you aren't what we think you are." He said in a monotone voice, and the two 'chunin' grew uneasy. Out of nowhere, Sakura walked up to them.

"And while you're at it, you might as well drop the genjutsu too. We know that this is only the second floor." She added. The chunin narrowed their eyes at them, before having the numbers fade from 301 to 201.

"Hmmph. Well aren't you guys clever. NOW DODGE THIS!" One of the men came barreling at Sasuke, who gladly charged his leg up to kick back. Before they could fight, Sakura grappled and stopped Sasuke's kick, while Naruto pounced and held the chunin down.

"Get the hell off of me, you brat!" The man snapped at Naruto, who just held him down tight. He looked back at Sakura, who was giving Sasuke a lecture about 'keeping a low profile'. Seeing that the situation had settled, Naruto let the man go (which involved many curse words and many middle fingers). He walked back to Sasuke and Sakura, seeing if he could possibly make the situation less awkward and annoying for Sasuke, seeing as how he looked like he would snap at any minute. That is until the 'train wreck in a jumpsuit' walked over to Sakura.

"Excuse me, but my name is Rock Lee." The boy greeted kindly. Sakura looked at him with a bored expression. "And your name is Sakura, right?"

"Get to the point." She said. Lee suddenly winked at her and began blushing.

"Would you please be my girlfriend? I'll vow to prote-"

"Not happening pal." She interrupted, putting a hand on her hip. Lee's expression dropped, making him look like a sad puppy that lost its toy.

"B-but… why?" He asked meekly. Sakura looked him up and down before scoffing.

"Because you're a freak." She swiftly turned her head and crossed her arms. _***who does he think he is? Thinking that I'll just be his girlfriend right then and there, as if!***_ Lee hung his head sadly, walking back to his team. Naruto shook his head.

"Loser." He mumbled bluntly. While Sakura shot Lee down, Sasuke was staring at Sakura curiously.

_How did she stop my kick so easily? And quickly as well… it looks like Naruto's not the only one who's stronger than he appears… Damn it… _Sasuke thought to himself, unconsciously glaring at her. Speaking of Lee's teammates, they both came up to Sasuke, taking him out of his spell.

"Hey you. What's your name?" The boy asked Sasuke.

"Isn't it common courtesy to give your own name first?" Sasuke replied, not really caring.

"That sounds like something a kid would say. How old are you, anyway?" He asked once more, but Sasuke just brushed him off and walked away. Neji glared at him, feeling insulted that he didn't get an answer. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity, Naruto made his way over to him.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Hyuuga Neji." He jumped in slyly. Neji looked him over.

"Who are you?" He asked uncaringly.

"By the sound of your voice, you don't seem too eager to hear the answer." Naruto replied bluntly.

"It's because I'm not."

"Then don't ask the question, Mister 'servant' of the main house." Naruto made sure to stretch the last word, just so it could sink in. He knew that Neji hated being a servant of the main house in the Hyuuga clan, and he knew he was going to have a good time pissing him off about it, too. Before he could say more, Sakura grabbed his arm and tried to pull him away. However, Neji grabbed his other arm tightly.

"Hey. Just who are you?" Neji asked once more, suddenly showing extreme interest in his voice. Naruto looked at the grip Neji had on his arm and suddenly got a bad chill. Despite the chill, he kept up the attitude.

"What? You're suddenly interested in me? I'm flattered." Naruto said sarcastically. Behind Neji, the brunette from before was starting to look a little nervous. Neji's grip tightened, and at this point, it seemed like he wanted to start a fight. Fortunately, Sakura decided to step in.

"Look, Hyuuga Neji. You'll have to forgive my teammate, he's extremely rude and probably has a serious psychological problem. Now, we really have to get moving…" Sakura tried to pull Naruto away, but Neji suddenly yanked Naruto forward. He activated his Byakugan, and hit him on one of his main arteries. But Naruto quickly poofed into a log, showing the substitution jutsu. Neji glanced at the log, then looked up at Sakura. She winked at him before poofing into a cloud of smoke as well, disappearing from the area. Behind the doors to the left, two of the chunin from before poofed into jonin, smirking at each other.

"So those were the misfits that Guy and Kakashi keep goin' on about?"

"Yup, and by the looks of it, I don't think that it was all talk."

"Pshh. Whatever. That'll be determined from the exams."

* * *

**On another part of the academy**

"What the HELL do you think you're doin?!" Sakura growled at Naruto, who was snickering to himself. He shrugged.

"What can I say? It was a Hyuuga and they're so fun to piss off. Especially that one." Naruto joked. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Let's just get moving. I agree with Sakura, keeping a low profile is the best course of action. Plus, she is the most analytical one of the group. " Sasuke jumped in.

"Well fuck you too, then." Naruto mumbled. Sakura smiled happily when she saw that Sasuke agreed with her. _***HAH! That's what Naruto gets!* **_Then he turned to her._** *Shit.***_

"But Sakura," He added. "Out of all of us, Naruto does seem to know more about the people who live in this village. I think he knows when he's out matched." Sakura thought for a moment before making a sweet smile.

"O-okay, Sasuke-kun!" She chirped nervously. _***I can't believe he's taking Naruto's side against mine! That bastard!***_

"And then you just have Sasuke. He's nothing special at all really, compared to us I mean." Naruto chimed in. Sakura glared at him, telling him to shut up with her eyes. Naruto knew that was probably the worst thing to say at this point, but he was tired of getting this pissed off vibe from the Uchiha. He decided to test the waters, and see what comment would start the tsunami. Well that tsunami was about to strike, because Sasuke looked like he would kill Naruto in an instant. Before he could, a voice sounded in the room.

"Hey you, Uchiha Sasuke!" The team turned to the source of the voice, and saw that it was Rock Lee. Sasuke looked curiously. Lee stood at the top of the stairs on the railing. He suddenly got in a fighting stance. "My name is Rock Lee! Earlier, you said that it's common courtesy to give your own name first, so there. I challenge you!" He stated with a look of determination.

Sasuke stayed silent for a moment before speaking, "So, you know me." The team stared at him for a moment, before Sakura spoke.

"Listen Lee, Sasuke is WAY out of your league-"

"I am sorry, Sakura! But I asked the Uchiha, not you!" Lee interrupted, catching her off guard. Naruto threw his arms behind his head and leaned against the wall.

"Yeah, Sakura. Listen for once in your life." Naruto chuckled mockingly. Sakura ignored him and stood her ground. But she noticed that Sasuke looked a little… different. Like he suddenly got a little darker and more arrogant.

"Hmph. So you've heard of the Uchiha clan, yet you're still challenging me? You obviously act the way you dress; psychotically." He mused. He then narrowed his eyes at Lee. "But, if you truly want to learn more of the Uchiha Clan, then I will teach it to you… the hard way." Rock Lee brought up his arms, ready to fight. Sasuke did the same.

"'_I agree with Sakura, keeping a low profile is the best course of action. Plus, she is the most analytical one of the group.' Look at me, I'm Sasuke and I'm a moron."_ Naruto said mockingly, acting as if he was actually him. Sakura and Sasuke glared at him, and he rolled his eyes. "Look, you're the one who said to keep a low profile."

"He's challenging me. Besides, this will only take a minute." Sasuke replied bluntly. He activated his Sharingan and charged at Lee.

_It doesn't matter if it's genjutsu or ninjutsu… I can see it clearly now! _Sasuke thought as he charged at Lee. Sakura smiled.

_***He might be a jerk sometimes, but he's still such a cool guy! There's no way a guy like Lee can win against-***_

Just as she thought that, Lee nailed Sasuke in the face with kick. Sasuke flew back and hit the back of the wall, right next to Naruto. Sakura stared in disbelief.

"B-but… how?! He's got the Sharingan!" Sakura complained. Naruto got off the wall and stepped up.

"Yeah, I figured this would happen. And now someone knows that we have the Sharingan on our side, thanks for keeping it on the down low guys, you're really trying." Naruto spoke up. Lee listened intently. "I know for a fact that Lee can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu. He only knows Taijutsu, which, if I know my facts, is something the Sharingan can't predict. So, instead of wasting energy and trying to beat this guy-"

Sasuke lunged after Lee and they ended up being tangled in a fist fight. Naruto sighed. "- You will waste energy and try to beat this guy. Great." Sakura walked up to Naruto.

"Okay, explain further, he's not listening." Sakura said.

"The point is that Sasuke's can't do shit against Lee with that ability, and Lee is a pretty strong opponent despite the look. The Sharingan isn't meant to see Taijutsu." Naruto explained. He glanced at Sasuke. "This should be over pretty soon." Sasuke went at Lee, seeing his every move, but his body couldn't keep up with his eyes. Sasuke went to kick, but Lee dodged at lightning speed. He landed right behind him.

"That boy is right. I do not use ninjutsu or genjutsu. I only use taijutsu. You do not stand a chance!" Rock lee suddenly kicked Sasuke up in the air and jumped under him. Suddenly the bandages on his arms and wrists started to come off, and was about to encase him.

"Dancing leaf shadow?!" Sasuke nodded.

"It's time to put the Uchiha in his place-" Lee was stopped by a kunai that wisped by and pinned his bandages to the wall. Sasuke and Lee looked over to see that it was Sakura.

"Alright, that's enough!" She growled at Lee, who immediately stuck his landing, while Sasuke hit the ground. Sakura stomped over to Lee.

"Why did you stop our match, Sakura?" Lee asked sadly. Sakura leered down at him.

"Because I don't want to be stuck with _that _loser on our team!" She snapped, pointing at Naruto.

"Charming." Naruto mumbled, glancing at a hurt Sasuke. "Oh, and Lee?"

"What is it?" Lee asked, a little angry that he couldn't finish the fight.

"Dancing Leaf Shadow. You know that's forbidden right?" He asked. Lee glared darkly at him.

"What do you care? It was a challenge, and you must do whatever is in your power to win."

"True, but I wonder what your sensei would think. Surely he wouldn't allow his own student to use a forbidden jutsu, especially on a comrade of all things!" Naruto smirked, because he was looking beyond Lee and more behind him. Lee blinked and turned around, only to have a punch connect with his face.

"YOU FOOL!" A man behind Lee screamed. The boy flew and landed right in front of Sakura, making her jump.

"Holy shit!" She squeaked. The man who punch Lee looked like an older version of him, having a bowl haircut and even bushier eyebrows than him.

"I'm sorry that you guys have to see this, but I have to punish my student for breaking the rules. You guys can go on with what you were doing." He apologized, before walking over to Lee. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke walked out of the area quickly.

"Well, that was lame." Naruto was the first to speak. "That only made our team look bad, you know." Sasuke wiped his cheek angrily, smearing the blood that was there.

"Naruto… just shut it." Sakura muttered, feeling pretty bummed out that Sasuke lost his match.

Naruto frowned. "Hey, you're the ones who wanted to stay quiet. Why am I suddenly the bad guy?" Naruto asked looking at Sakura. She felt a chill head up her spine when he saw the solemn look he gave her. She opened her mouth to speak, but Naruto beat her to it. "Let's just… get to where we're supposed to be." He shook his head while slowling his walk so now he could be in the back of the three. Sasuke took the initiative and walked ahead of them, much farther ahead. The team reached the third floor, and at the end of the hallway was Kakashi. When he saw all three of them together, he smiled.

"Well, I'm glad that you guys showed up. Just through these doors is the first step to the exams, I hope you're ready." He said. They all nodded.

"We are, don't you worry sensei." Sakura replied. The other two agreed calmly. Kakashi nodded and stood aside.

"You know, you guys might be a pain to deal with…" Kakashi started as they opened the doors. "… but I couldn't ask for a better team."

As soon as the team stepped through the doors, they were overwhelmed by the amounts of ninjas that were actually in the room. There were about a hundred or so in there, and they looked like they were in their 20s and teens. But throughout all the talking, they could make out the squeal of the light blonde girl that came and hugged Sasuke. She snuggled her head into the back of his hair.

"Ah, Sasuke-kun… You have no idea how much I missed you!" She flirted. Sasuke looked at her with pure disgust, and Sakura glared at her.

"INO! Get off of him, right now!" She growled loudly, pushing her off him. Sasuke made sure to get far away from the two girls.

"They let YOU in? I didn't think they would accept a forehead that big, I thought it would be too distracting!" She cooed, putting a hand on her hip. "You know this is the chunin exams, right? It's not a place for pink haired sluts." She stuck her tongue out at her.

"What did you call me, whore?!" Sakura spat at her. Ino smirked, but it faulted quickly when she suddenly glanced at Naruto. "What are you doing here, you asshole?"

"Oh, I didn't realize that this place had your name on it, princess." He scoffed back. Before Ino could retaliate, Shikamaru and Choji came up behind her.

"Just drop it Ino, we don't need to make this an even bigger pain." Shikamaru said. Choji just shrugged and kept eating his bag of chips. Shikamaru was a lazy, but smart ninja, and choji was strong pig, basically. "Hmm. Surprised to see you here Naruto."

"Fuck you too." Naruto muttered back.

"And who do we have here?" A loud voice screamed in his ear, making him jump. "It's the runt of the class who managed to crawl his way out of the academy." The voice belonged to the one and only Kiba, a dog obsessed loudmouth. He was the bane of Naruto's existence.

"Oh, look. It's the number one bitch of the class, and then there's the dog." Naruto spat, but making sure to keep his voice down unlike everyone else. Kiba glared at him, not taking the hint.

"Insult me one more time and I'll-!"

"K-kiba! D-don't!" A quiet voice pleaded. It was Hinata, the cousin of Neji. Right behind her was Shino, a bug expert (Naruto didn't find the concept of using bugs as a weapon very interesting, so he didn't look further into Shino's character). Hinata looked the other way while blushing. "U-um… I'm sorry N-naruto…" Naruto sighed and gave a small smile.

"It's fine." He honestly didn't expect to see her here, seeing as she wasn't too experienced in ninja training. But it made him happy to see her there. You could say he has a soft spot for her.

"So you guys are the rookie 9." A silver haired man approached them suddenly. He wore a pair of glasses, and he looked laid back. He looked to be the only normal ninja in here. But there was something… off, about him. And Naruto knew it. Naruto can write a book on almost every single ninja in Konoha. That being said, he had no idea who this guy was, and that was the fact that scared him the most.

"Ah, where are my manners? My name is Kabuto. Do yourselves a favor and just look around." The 9 rookies looked around and saw that EVERYONE in that room were glaring them down. Team 8 and team 10 felt shivers go up there spine, but team 7 made sure to keep their cool. "They're from the rain village, and they're pretty tense. During these tests, everyone's nervous and on edge. I suggest you keep it down from now on. How about I give you rookies some tips?" When he said that, he brought out some orange cards. He flipped one over and used his chakra to form it into a map.

"What's this?!" Ino asked, not understanding a single part of it. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"It's a map of the nations." Sakura said bluntly as if it was supposed to be obvious. Kabuto nodded.

"Yeah. You see, each nation sends in participants for the exams. This will show the diversity, what village they come from, and how many from each village." Kabuto explained. Naruto put his hands in his jacket pockets.

"Can those cards… see other candidates? Individually, I mean." Naruto asked. Kabuto stared at him for a moment.

"I might. I can't promise to have a whole biography on them, but I have something on just about everyone. You have someone in mind?" He informed, adjusting his glasses creepily. Naruto pressed his lips together.

"I just might." He mumbled. **I really want information on **_**you. **_**But that might not be the best idea, seeing that it is **_**you **_**who's doing the research**_**. **_**Let's see, who do I want to look up…?**

"There's this girl with blonde spiky hair, a large fan, and she's from the sand village. That's all I know." Naruto said. Kabuto thought for a moment as he spun the card. Pumping chakra into it, the card showed a pictured of the girl Naruto saw. "Yeah, that's her."

"Well, her name is Temari. Her teammates consist of Kankuro and Gaara of the sand. She's complete 8 C rank missions, and 1 b rank missions as a genin." Kabuto explained. Shikamaru raised a brow.

"Her team completed a B rank mission as a genin?" He asked. Naruto paled, thinking back to the land of waves. It was a time he did not want to remember, so he shook it away from his mind.

"Yup. Anyone else?" Sasuke stepped up.

"Rock Lee of the Leaf Village." He said. Kabuto looked him up and showed the card.

"Rock Lee. His teammates consist of Hyuuga Neji, and Tenten. He's completed 20 D rank missions, and 11 C ranks. And to top it off, he's a year older than you guys." Kabuto explained. As he continued with the cards, Naruto's ears began ringing. At first he thought it was nothing, but then it started to actually hurt his head.

**Okay, very funny Kyuubi. Now stop screwing with me.**

_**It's not me kit.**_

**I'm fucking serious, this really fucking hurts!**

Naruto glanced to his left and he saw a swift movement of a figure. He scanned the room, but his eyes were only able to see slight movements. Another shot of pain went through his head and he started to stumble a little. Sakura and Sasuke noticed his fidgeting and turned to him.

"What's up? You see something?" Sakura asked. Naruto nodded, trying to mask the pain in his head.

"I see… people moving… Jumping around... don't know where…" Naruto whispered. Sasuke nodded and activated his sharingan.

"Can you smell them?" Sasuke asked, keeping watch.

"No…. too many smells…. Can't tell…" Naruto groaned, rubbing his temple. Out of nowhere, a sound ninja jumped from the crowd and lunged at Kabuto. Sasuke was the first to see it, so he motioned his teammates to jump to the other side of the room. Kabuto turned and leaped out of the way of two Kunai that landed at his feet. A different ninja came at him and swung at his face, but he appeared to miss.

"Nice dodge!" Kiba chuckled, Akamaru barking along with him. A smirk came to Kabuto's face, but then his glasses suddenly broke and fell to the ground. He then began to cough and vomit up blood onto the floor. Sakura gasped.

"B-but he dodged it!" She said. Sasuke stared at the scene with wide eyes. Naruto watched patiently, until a sudden sound travelled through his ears. This sound was so high pitched that neither Sasuke nor Sakura could hear it. His ears were already ringing, but now they felt like they could explode at any minute. He gripped his pants leg, almost tearing the fabric. He started to sweat madly. Sakura looked him over.

"N-naruto…? Are you okay…?" She asked him. Naruto shook his head slightly.

"I'm… fine…" He hissed through gritted teeth. Naruto bit his lip and put his hands over his ears. Sakura crawled over to him.

"What's happening to you...?" She muttered to herself. Naruto moved away from the group and began coughing up blood. Thankfully, since they moved to the other side of the room, none of the sound ninjas noticed.

"HEY! You sound ninjas! Don't think you can just start picking fights before the exam! Do you want to fail before we even begin?!" A man's voice sounded. Naruto glanced up at him. He had a large black trench coat on, and two scars running across his face. He had a couple of men standing and smirking behind him. "We decide when you can fight or not, you have no say in it!"

One of the sound nins laughed. "No fighting? Well that's no fun!"

Sakura tapped Naruto's shoulder. "Hey… are you okay now?" She whispered. Naruto kept his hands up for a moment, before shakily taking them off. He sighed as the ringing in his ears began to die down, and his migraine started to stop.

"… yeah… god damn, those ninjas…." Naruto groaned while shaking his head. He wiped the sweat off his face andThe man with the coat scanned the room.

"My name is Morino Ibiki, I am the chunin exam's first examiner. Go ahead and turn in your papers. Once you do, take a number out of this stack. This will determine where you'll sit." The men behind Ibiki came over and collected the applications. Everyone took their numbers and sat in their seats. Ibiki walked over and stood next to the chalkboard. "Let's begin the first test of the chunin exams. Here are the rules, and you better listen now, because I'm only saying this once. You will all start out with 10 points, and with each question you answer incorrectly, you lose one point. Whether you pass or fail is decided by the group's total score."

"Are you KIDDING me!?" Ino complained. Ibiki growled.

"I said no questions!" He snapped at her, making her shut up. She huffed and glared at him.

_Choji and Shikamaru are pretty damn stupid. And my points alone won't be able to save the others if they fail! _Ino complained in her mind.

"Now, the sentinels are placed around the room to watch you. For every time they catch you cheating, you will get 2 points deducted. Final rule; if anyone is to get a zero on the exam, then the entire team fails." At that moment, Akamaru began growling and barking.

"Hey, that's a load of bullshit!" Kiba yelled at Ibiki. Naruto adjusted his goggles lazily.

**Why is he aloud to bring that damn dog with him?**

"No more interruptions! I can fail all of you right here and now!" Ibiki yelled.

Sakura breathed deeply and brushed a hair out of her face. _Alright, I know that I'll do alright. Sasuke should do fine, and as for Naruto… well, he's an ace ninja. He'll pass through sheer luck. We should be fine…_

"You have 45 minutes to answer the first nine questions, and I'll give the last at the 45 minute mark. You have one hour in total to complete this exam. Begin!"

Everyone flipped over their papers and began the exam. Naruto looked over the sheet, scanning the questions. After a moment, he sighed. He could understand the questions (Well, MOST of them) but the amount of time and work that had to be put into these 9 questions… and to only be done in one hour? The exam was extremely difficult for their age. Fortunately, he should be able to finish most of the questions in the time period.

**But that still doesn't make any sense. Why would they give us such a challenging test without a decent time span…? Now that I think about it, they said that we would lose only two points if we cheat… why only two points? Unless, they want us to cheat… aha.**

Naruto smirked to himself. He looked back down at the test, he didn't need to cheat for most of the answers. But for the ones he didn't know, Hinata kindly gave him the answers. During the test, people were being called for failing. So far, 13 teams had been called for cheating. A teammate from Temari's team, Kankuro, had raised his hand to go to the bathroom. Naruto watched as the sentinel walked him there.

**Hmmph. Am I the only one that notices that there was an extra sentinel? If this is 'the best of the best' security, I don't really have high hopes for Konoha.**

_**Just finish the problems, kit.**_

Sakura was already halfway done with the test. These questions were easy for _her, _but she had no idea it would be this hard of a test. 30 minutes had passed and she had already finished. Just as she finished, she noticed a strange sense. Something was up. Realizing what it was, she scooted in her seat to the far right. Ino's mind transfer missed by a centimeter, and landed in someone else's body. Sakura smirked, holding back a fit of laughter. Ino mentally cursed inside the other's body, but decided to just work with what she had.

Kiba and his damn dog were barking up a storm throughout the entire test. Akamaru was apparently giving him 'answers'. It's still a mystery to Naruto how Kiba can understand that dog, and how he hasn't been called for cheating.

Sasuke didn't understand any of the questions, but he was able to use his sharingan to mimic the answers of someone else. He was finished within 40 minutes. Just as the time was up, Naruto finished the 9th question.

**Finished! I **_**so **_**deserve some ramen for my brilliance.**

_**If you would have cheated like you were supposed to, you would have been done sooner.**_

**Shut up, Kyuubi. **

"Alright! It's time for the final question!" Ibiki stated. Just then, Kankouro, someone on Temari's team, came out of the bathroom. "You're just in time. I hope you found your 'bathroom' break enlightening." Naruto smirked to himself, watching Kankuro return to his seat.

**Busted.**

"Now here's a special rule for the last question." Ibiki started. "You can choose whether or not to answer it."

At that, Temari slammed a hand on her desk, shocking everyone. "Hold up! What's the catch?! There's gotta be some strings attached!" She asked frantically. Naruto looked at her, then looked at Ibiki daringly. Ibiki glanced at Naruto, who's eyes almost screamed '_yeah, old man. What's the catch? I'm waiting.'_

_Who is this punk? It's almost like he's daring me to do something rash. _Ibiki thought before looking back at the room. "Anyone who chooses to not answer the last question, will automatically fail the exam. Which also means that your teammates will too." There were complaints going around the room, but Ibiki shook his head. "You didn't let me finish. If you do decide to take the last question, but fail it, you will not only fail the exam, but you can never take it again!" He finished. Naruto immediately stood up from his seat.

"Okay, gramps, if that's the rules for the question, fine! But there are people here that have taken the exam before!" Naruto shouted. Ibiki smirked and chuckled darkly.

"I guess you've just run out of your luck. I didn't make the rules the last time, but I am now. But of course, if you want to take it, you don't have to. Skip it, by all means, then you can take it again next year." Ibiki started to laugh at the bunch of kids, scaring some of them to no extent. Naruto glared at him and sat back down. "Now, if there's anyone who wants to leave, now would be the time to do it."

The boy next to Naruto raised his hand and stood up. This was followed by many others who wanted to leave. After a good bunch of people left, Ibiki smirked at the remaining.

"Are you ready for the final question?" He asked daringly. Naruto rested his cheek on his hand, bored with what was going on. He was honestly just waiting for the last question, regardless whether it was hard or easy. "… You pass!"

Naruto must have slammed his head so hard on the desk, because he started to get a massive headache all of a sudden. A lot of people didn't know how to respond to this. Sakura gaped at Ibiki before standing up angrily.

"Are you telling me… there is no 10th question!?" She growled. Ibiki nodded, almost keeling over with laughter. Naruto couldn't take it anymore and raised his hurt head from his desk slowly.

"So… these damn nine questions were for nothing?!" He hissed, rubbing the red mark on his forehead.

"Well, no. They served a purpose. It was to show how well you could gather information, or your intelligence. Many of you noticed that these were extremely advanced questions that not even some chunin could answer. This left most of you to cheat. We brought in a few chunin, so you would be able to get the answers somewhere. Those who cheated had poor cheating skill obviously failed."

**I really don't like this guy, you know.**

"The last question was to put pressure onto you guys, who obviously wouldn't want to let their teammates down. I wanted to see how well you took it." He continued. Naruto rolled his eyes. "Information… is the most important thing when it comes to missions and the battlefield." Ibiki undid his hitai-ate, and showed the top of his head. The whole bunch stared in shock at what was there. There were burn marks all over his skull, and there were scars and punctured marks that surrounded them. Naruto's eyes widened and he felt the urge to vomit. All of the scars and wounds… reminded him of the mission in the mist. He was reminded of Zabuza, Haku… and a half dead Sasuke…

He immediately turned away from Ibiki, knowing that if he stared to long that he would get a panic attack. But even after he look away, he felt a sense of dread enter him, and he could tell that his eyes had turned blood red. His nails suddenly grew sharper, and he had to bite his lip to stop the red chakra from seeping out of him.

**Stop fucking around Kyuubi.**

_**I don't see the problem here.**_

**I'm fucking serious! QUIT IT! NOW!**

'_**To the victor goes the spoils' right?**_

A hand was place on Naruto's arm, and he jumped. He looked to his right and saw Hinata holding him. She was looking at him with worried eyes. She didn't have to say anything, it was just good to know that a _friend _was there. Naruto felt himself return slowly to normal, his red eyes fading back to blue, and his nails returned to normal size. He let out a big sigh before thanking Hinata. He kept looking at his desk, so he wouldn't have to see Ibiki. When he knew he had put the cloth back on, he finally looked up.

"Keep this in mind! Disinformation can lead to the death of comrades, or the loss of a village. That's why I had you go through the nine question. It put you in a situation where you needed to get accurate information in order to survive. And those who were not good enough were taken out." Ibiki finished. "As for you guys, you all have the right to go to the next part of the exam. There's nothing left but to wish you good luck!" As ibiki said this, he smiled genuinely at the bunch. The group let out a needed sigh and smiled at their success. At least until a black ball came hurling through the window, shattering it completely. In unfolded itself, revealing a large sign that said 'second proctor, Anko Minurashi'. Said proctor rose from the ball and stood proudly. She wore a full body fishnets outfit, and an orange and blue mini skirt. She wore a long beige trench coat, and her hair was pulled into a spiky ponytail.

"Don't get happy boys and girls! We're just getting started!" She snickered at them. "I'll be your next examiner, Anko Minurashi. Are you ready for the second test?" Before anyone could reply, raised her hand. "HELL YEAH! LET'S GO! FOLLOW ME!" Everyone looked at her like she was crazy. Ibiki came out from behind the large sign and sighed.

"You're early… AGAIN." He muttered. Anko flinched and glared at him.

"So what?! I don't care if I'm early or not, I'M ready for this damn exam to finally start!" She snapped back. She looked over the group of kids before groaning. "Damn, how many are there? Ibiki, your test was too easy! I think you're getting soft."

"Or perhaps, we have a stronger group of genin this year."

"Hmm. They sure don't look like it. But I'll play along." Anko smirked evilly. "Trust me, when this test is done, more than half of you will be wiped out." Sakura raised a brow.

_More than half?!_

"This is going to be so much fun! Now that I think about it, thanks Ibiki! More meat to throw at the piranhas!" She laughed, giggling maniacally. Naruto chuckled at her. Things were getting more and more interesting by the day.


	8. Chunin Exams (Part 2)

**Backstabbers**

* * *

**Ch. 8- Chunin Exams (Part 2)**

* * *

_**Kyuubi Speaking**_

**Naruto thinking**

"Someone speaking**"**

_Someone thinking_

'_**FlashBack'**_

**(Author's input)**

*****_**Sakura's inner conscience***_

* * *

**Next Morning, outside of the forest of death**

Ank stood by the fence in front of all the candidates. She scanned over them all, already predicting which ones were going to fail.

"So, this is the forest of death. I am handing out these consent forms for you to sign." She passed the papers out. Kiba took one look at the papers and growled.

"Consent forms?! Does this mean that we might die?!" He exclaimed, Akamaru barking along with him. Naruto sat under a nearby tree away from the others. He watched and listened patiently. It's not like he needed to be close, with his hyperactive hearing.

Anko smirked and began to laugh. "Yes! People will die. By signing these forms, this shows that you are willing to take responsibility for any injury, or worse that may occur." Kiba narrowed his eyes and almost tore the paper. Anko chuckled. "Now, here's how the second test will work; this is a survival exam." She pulled out a scroll that revealed to be a map of the region. After everyone got a good look at it, she pulled it away. She then brought out two scrolls.

"Each team will be given a scroll. You might be stuck with an earth scroll, or a heaven scroll. Either way, it won't matter. The point here is to collect both scrolls by the end of 5 days, and then make it to the center tower in time." She explained. Choji gasped, completely modified.

"F-F-FIVE DAYS?! Without food?!" He exclaimed, making Naruto roll his eyes. Anko grinned evilly.

"Well this is a forest. Just look around. I'm sure you'll find something delicious to eat!" She laughed. Kabuto stood up and smiled.

"There are also poisonous plants and man-eating animals." He informed with a sweet smile. Choji groaned and pouted. Naruto narrowed his eyes at Kabuto. He didn't trust him… at all. There was something _weird _about him.

**Do you know anything on this Kabuto guy, Kyuubi? Kyuubi! You there?!**

Ever since the first exam, Kyuubi has been ignoring Naruto's conversations, if you can call them that. It's been bugging him for a bit, and now it was starting to worry him. Shikamaru suddenly raised his hand.

"Are we allowed to quit during the exam?" He asked. Anko frowned.

"What sort of stupid question is that? Of course not! In a battle, you can't simply quit and drop the match! Well, I mean, you _could, _but you'd probably get yourself killed. Hehe." She snickered to herself. She looked back at the rest of the genin. "Let me explain what would get you disqualified or failed in this exam. First!" She held up her index finger. "If all three teammates fail to bring both scrolls to the tower before the 5 days are up. Second!" She held up two fingers. "Any team that has one or more lost teammates, or unrecovered teammates, will automatically fail. Third!" Three fingers. "If you DARE to open the scrolls until you reach the center tower!"

Ino looked up. "And what would happen if we look?" She asked. Anko went silent for a moment before smiling.

"Little girl…" She started. "Let's just say that You. Don't. Want. To. Know." Ino felt a shiver go up her spine. "As a chunin, you are expected to deliver special and secret documents. This will prove if you have what it takes. That's all! You will get your scroll in that booth over there, just hand in the form." Anko pointed at the group of chunin near a booth. She waited for a moment. "Oh yeah! If forgot to mention… don't die!"

Each team split up into their own groups… or at least they were supposed to. Team 7 didn't really get the memo. Sasuke stood alone by the fence, reading over the form.

_I see. Ibiki was right. This is not going to be easy. Everyone's trying to pass this exam… and they are all my enemies. _Sasuke thought angrily, crumpling the sheet. Sakura walked off and thought about a strategy for getting past this. Until, of course, a certain blonde decided to show up.

"Well if it isn't the billboard slut!" She laughed, grabbing her attention. Shikamaru and Choji were right behind her without paying much attention. Sakura glared at her.

"What do you want, you pig?" Sakura asked angrily. Ino laughed and waved the form in her hand.

"This is your last chance to back out. You really think you have what it takes beat this exam?" She acted like a smartass. And Sakura just wanted to wipe her pretty little face on the floor. "I mean, the only real deal on your team is Sasuke! Why would he want to help a desperate little weak girl, and a dumbass like Naruto?" Sakura shook her head.

"You're wrong!" She exclaimed. "I'm not the weak little girl I was at the academy, and Naruto is definitely not a dumbass… well, theoretically." Ino crossed her arms.

"You think that just because you have a big brain and that you managed to complete a few mission makes you better than you were at the academy?"

"Better than you will ever be!" Sakura retorted. Ino growled and pulled her arm back to swing, but Shikamaru and Choji held her back.

"You are such a pain!" Shikamaru groaned, pulling her away. Choji was repeatedly getting kicked and punched by her.

"I-Ino! Please c-calm down!" He stuttered. Sakura huffed and stomped off. Naruto watched from the tree he sat by and shook his head. He never understood the girls at his academy.

"So, you really are in the exams. I'm impressed." A female's voice said. Naruto turned and saw Temari, standing boldly in front of him. He sneered.

"So what, you thought that I was bluffing?" He asked, getting defensive. Temari put a hand on her hip.

"Well, you looked like a rookie, so I didn't really know what to think. Of course now I know that you are one of the rookie nine, right?" She questioned curiously. Naruto nodded.

"Apparently that's what we're called." He answered. He looked over and saw a red haired emotionless boy standing next to Kankuro. He nodded over to them. "So, Kankuro and Gaara. Those are your teammates?"

"Damn right. How'd you know?"

Naruto shrugged. "Just a hunch." Temari blinked.

"So, Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura." She said. Naruto looked at her.

"We stand out that much?" He mumbled, more to himself than to Temari.

"Well, there's this Neji guy who bad mouths you a lot." Temari said, Naruto snorted. "And then there's this Lee guy who kept goin' on about Sakura and Sasuke. So I just put the pieces together." After that, Anko called up team 7. Once every team had been called, they waited for their gates to be opened. Even in a gate farther away, they could hear a certain loud mouth screaming.

"Yahoo! We totally rock at survival! There's no way we can lose!" Kiba yelled above everyone else. Naruto glared at him. "Hinata, you oughta' pull yourself together for this!" He told her… well, more of _threatened_ her. She was already a shaking mess to begin with, without a screaming class clown hovering over her. Naruto felt his anger at Kida rise. He looked back at Sakura and Sasuke.

"I'm gonna kick Kida's ass." He muttered darkly. Sakura, who didn't really care about Hinata, rolled her eyes.

"And what if they have the same scroll as us?" She added.

"I'll hurt him anyway. I don't really give a damn."

The Chunin unlocked the gates, and Anko grinned. "Alright you maggots! The second part of the exam… Has begun!" When she screamed this, Team 7 were the firsts to leave, along with most of the groups. They knew that most of the other teams would target the rookies, seeing as they were an easy target. They decided that staying out of sight would be the best course of action. As soon as they were far enough, they hid in a small cave that wasn't very visible. They took out their scroll and looked at it. It was the heaven scroll.

"Okay, here's the plan." Sasuke whispered. Sakura and Naruto looked at him. "We don't talk unless we have to, anyone could be listening on us. Even now. Naruto, you have the sharpest nose and ears, so you keep guard while we travel through this place." Naruto nodded. "Sakura, you're the smartest, so you can warn us about any sort of herb or even a genjutsu." Sakura nodded. "I'll be the fighter."

Naruto shook his head. "And what happens when the great Uchiha gets injured and can't fight anymore?"

Sasuke looked at Naruto before glaring at the ground. "I won't let that happen." He growled through his teeth. Naruto and Sakura decided to leave Sasuke alone on the subject. The three got out of the cave and quickly searched for scrolls. They didn't travel too close to each other in case they would stand out, but not too far to where they would lose each other. Throughout the forest, there were loud howls of pain and agony from other teams. Naruto could see what Anko meant by half of the lot would be eliminated. They travelled through the forest for about an hour, only coming across roughed up areas and blood splattered bark. They landed in a small clearing, where the berries that were on a small bush were lying on the ground and some were even stepped on. Sakura examined the berries.

_***Whoever ate these must be having a good time. These are poisonous berries, and by the looks of it, they were consumed not too long ago. I wonder who the poor sucker was… hopefully that Ino-pig!***_

Sakura quickly signaled that the berries were no good and to leave the area. Before they could, Naruto held out his hand to stop them. They didn't move an inch. Naruto's ears twitched with every sound. It was hard to smell and exact target since the area was already clouded with the scents of others. But he would have sworn he heard something… something like… wind?

Naruto immediately signaled the others move to the side, in which they did. Just as they moved, a gush of harsh wind came barreling through the area. Thankfully, they moved just in time. Naruto carefully looked behind the tree he was hiding behind, and saw a feminine looking grass ninja. He stared at them creepily.

"What an interesting trio we have here! Looks like I'll have more fun with you than I thought!" He mused to himself. Naruto glanced at Sakura and Sasuke, telling them to gets some distance from the area. Not to completely bail on him, but far enough to be out of range of his attacks. They did so (With the stubborn yet silent protests from Sasuke), and when Naruto couldn't see them anymore, he stepped out of hiding. The man grinned. "I would have sworn there were more of you here." Naruto glared at him.

"They were fucking blown away, you sadist!" He faked being angry. The man stared for a moment before pulling out his Earth scroll.

"I assume that this is what you want? You do have the Heaven scroll." He offered while licking his lips with his snake tongue. Naruto's eyes widened.

**How did he know about the Earth scroll… this guy is really fucked up. You don't think that… no way. It can't be. No… Could he be Orochimaru?**

It was a long shot. Naruto did a lot of research on Orochimaru, or at least of what he could get his hands on. Let's just say that he's not someone to screw around with. Whether he was Orochimaru or not, he had a really bad feeling all of a sudden. He tried to channel Kyuubi for help but once again, he's been completely ignored by him.

The man slid a snake like tongue over his lips before engulfing the entire scroll, swallowing it whole. Naruto had to hold himself from vomiting.

"In the end… one of us will have two scrolls…" The man slowly pulled down his eyelid. For once, Naruto had no idea what he was doing. But as soon as he pulled down his eyelid, he would have sworn he was sent to hell. "And the other will be dead." The words echoed in his brain as he started to drift off into the madness. Out of nowhere, Naruto felt a wave of panic hit him suddenly. His ears began ringing like before, except now it was mind numbing. His head was pounding, and his vision started to look bleak. Naruto gasped when he saw a kunai come at him at amazing speed. If this was reality, Naruto would have dodged it in an instant. But now, he had no control over his body. The kunai his him, right on his head. He felt it, he saw it, he heard it, and_ it_ felt so damn real! Naruto didn't know when he lost balance, but he was now on his knees. Everything was standing still. His ears were numb, and he felt lightheaded. He couldn't move his arms or legs, he couldn't control himself… he couldn't control Kyuubi. The one thing that kept Naruto secure, kept his cool through the shit he's been through… was knowing that he had a control on the monster inside him. But now… he couldn't feel _anything. _His mind was going blank. He could hear Kyuubi trying to speak to him, but it only registered as a voice. Not words or sentences. Just a voice.

Not too far from there, Sasuke and Sakura watched the whole scene in shock. From their point of view, it looked like Naruto just collapsed right then and there. The man barely lifted a finger.

"What happened to him?!" Sakura asked. Sasuke thought for a moment.

"Damn it. I guess it's a good thing we got out of there in time." He said to himself.

"Yeah, but if we don't help him soon…" Sakura trailed off, watching as the man approached him with a kunai. Sasuke nodded and headed towards the scene. "If push comes to shove, bring him to this tree, alright?" Sakura asked him. He nodded and continued.

The snake-like man smirked at his prey. "I guess you weren't much of a challenge after all. Pity." Naruto trembled madly. Some of the Kyuubi's chakra was seeping out of him, showing how hard the demon was trying to reawaken his master. Sasuke watched in horror as his teammate looked like he had just visited hell and back. He never seen him more horrified.

_Come on you dobe. Stop playing around and beat up this guy! _Sasuke thought while panicking. He didn't know why he was cowering all of a sudden. A minute ago, he was ready to save the idiot and finish this guy off. Now he's over here watching it like it was a horror film.

The ninja suddenly threw the kunai, aiming directly at Naruto. Sasuke quickly snapped out of his delusion, jumping to his feet. He instantly grabbed him and ran back to Sakura. She was waiting patiently for them, and when she saw Naruto she started to panic. Sasuke set him on a branch.

"Can you heal him or something?" He asked her as she examined him. She shook her head.

"He's paralyzed. Whatever that freak did to him has left him shocked. We just have to wait until he snaps ou-" She explained, but Sasuke clamped a hand onto her mouth. He listened as the man was nearby. Sakura gulped and kept quiet. She looked at Naruto, who had his head tilted down. She lifted his head and almost gasped at the shock of his bright red eyes. They weren't aimed at her, his eyes were looking through her, if that made any sense. He wasn't staring at anything in particular. The lines on his cheeks were bolder like before, and his claws were showing again. Sakura felt a shiver go up her spine.

Sasuke was still focusing on where the man was, but Sakura was focused on a different problem. A large snake (and by large she means NOT THE AVERAGE COBRA) appeared from behind her. She gasped and yanked on Sasuke's shirt to warn him. He looked and his eyes widened.

"How did we not hear that thing?!" He exclaimed while jumping to the nearest tree. Sakura grabbed Naruto and followed, obviously more slowly than normal. She jumped farther away than Sasuke did, resting Naruto on a branch.

"I guess we really do need your acute hearing, huh?" Sakura muttered to a dazed Naruto. She turned back and signaled to Sasuke to let her take care of the snake. He was reluctant at first, but soon buckled down and let her have it. Sakura smirked and charged at the snake, reeling her arm back for a punch. She jumped and pounded the snake in the head. Making sure to be thorough, she threw a handful of shuriken right at the head of the snake. It let out a loud hiss before falling to the ground. Sasuke and Sakura returned to Naruto.

When she reached him, she was shocked at what she saw. Just like back at the mission to waves, Naruto looked exactly like what he did then. Red chakra was spiraling out of him, but he was still paralyzed. Sakura gulped, keeping her distance. Still watching him, but keeping her distance.

_**DAMNIT! SNAP OUT OF IT!**_

**I-I'm d-dead... f-f-fuck! I'm… DEAD!**

**NO YOU'RE NOT! IT WAS A DAMN JUSTU!**

**J-just like back a-at the chambers! I'm dead! Haku is dead! Zabuza is dead! Sasuke is dead! DeadDeadDeadDEADDEADDEADDEADDEAD!**

Kyuubi kept using more chakra to keep Naruto down. His level of panic was increasing each minute, yet he still couldn't move his body. Normally, this wouldn't be much of a problem. But now that everybody and everything is trying to murder Naruto, that only makes this ten times more difficult.

Sasuke looked over Naruto before turning to Sakura.

"I might have an idea." He said, still wary of the grass ninja. Sakura listened. "Do you think that if Naruto experienced pain, he would get out of his trauma?" Sasuke suggested. Sakura looked at him like he was crazy.

_A trauma?! Is that what he thinks this is?! _Sakura thought. _Oh… I forgot. He never did see Naruto in his true form back at the land of waves. _

"Sasuke… even if your right, in this state Naruto can easily snap and lose control." She said sadly. Despite hating Naruto, she did not want to see him go through this again. Sasuke looked at him.

"What the hell is that?" He questioned while looking at the red chakra. Sakura sighed and shook her head. She hoped that Naruto wasn't going to fall back into that state.

Sasuke suddenly pulled out a kunai, and Sakura got scared. "W-wait a minute! Think about this for a second…!" She said while tugging on Sasuke's shirt. He held the kunai up and stabbed Naruto in the leg. His head suddenly snapped up and he let out a painful howl, but much shorter than last time. Naruto raised a claw and almost hit Sasuke and sakura, who had jumped out the way in time.

Naruto could feel himself gaining consciousness, but that wasn't the problem. Now that he could move his body, he was trying desperately to seal up Kyuubi again. His head was still throbbing, but that was from Kyuubi screaming at him in his head. Throughout all the madness, Naruto made an effort to signal the others to deal with the other ninja. With some protest, they did as he said.

Sakura and Sasuke stood over the corpse of the fallen snake. Before them another snake rose, except this time the scales began to crack. The grass ninja was pushed out of the body of the snake, covered in some shimmering liquid. He looked up and flicked his snake tongue at them. Suddenly, the man's torso stretched to a great length and he bended it all around the bark of the tree. He charged at Sasuke, but Sakura threw a few kunai to stop him.

"Not so fast creep!" She growled at him. Sasuke thought for a moment before looking at Sakura.

"Sakura!" He said in a serious voice. "Take Naruto and get out here!" Sakura nearly fell off her branch.

"W-WHAT?!" She exclaimed after she got back her composure. Sasuke glared at her.

"Just do it! You don't know what you're dealing with-"

"And you think you do?!" She snapped back. "I'm not leaving you behind! There's no way I can do that!"

"This isn't the survival exercise that Kakashi made us do. This isn't a damn B rank mission! This is our lives!" He suddenly looked at the ground. "I can't afford to die yet… not now…" Sasuke went silent before reaching into his pocket and bringing out their scroll. Sakura gasped. "Here! Take the scroll and leave us in peace!" Sasuke yelled at the ninja. Sakura glared at him.

"NO! What is wrong with you?!" She hissed. The man laughed before licking his lips.

"Sometimes the prey has to distract the predator with something more precious than their life in order to survive…" He snickered. Sasuke sighed before throwing the scroll to him. Sakura immediately lunged and caught it, jumping to a different tree.

"SAKURA! STOP IT!" Sasuke yelled in voice Sakura hasn't heard from him. She stood her ground though.

"No way, Sasuke! You may think that you can make the rules here, but you don't! Stop being such a coward!" She yelled back. She shoved the scroll into her pouch and turned towards the snake man. "If you want this scroll… you'll have to kill us first!"

The man flicked his tongue. "That I can do."

Back at the tree, Naruto had been able to suppress MOST of the Kyuubi's power (It's not easy to suppress a viscous demon in your soul, you know?).

**Fuck! You are not a very pleasant demon, are you?!**

_**I wouldn't HAVE to do this if you hadn't gotten yourself traumatized!**_

**Sure! This isn't about controlling me and destroying everything in our path!**

Naruto shook his head and sighed. He finally had control over his body again. The kyuubi's red chakra was still surrounding him, and his body still remained in the demon state. Thanks to Kyuubi, the wound on his leg had healed quickly. He sped off to where Sakura and Sasuke were. When he got there, he saw Sakura going at it with a snake. The grass ninja was watching her creepily. And Sasuke was just standing there… doing nothing!

Naruto growled and jumped at the grass nin. The ninja's tongue flicked out and stretched to grab and hold Naruto up by the arms. Naruto kicked and squirmed to get out of the grasp, but he couldn't. Sakura saw this and looked at Sasuke.

"Sasuke! Help him out!" She screamed at him. Sasuke didn't do anything. He just stood there. Sakura gulped and charged at the man, but he stopped her easily with a gust of wind. She flew back and hit her back against the tree. Naruto glared at him.

"You really are Orochimaru, aren't you?!" Naruto choked out. Orochimaru smirked and chuckled.

"Indeed, I am. What an interesting child you are, nine tailed brat! It seems that you not only have the demon inside you, but it shows on your face as well. How incredibly interesting." The ninja lifted up Naruto's shirt and saw the sign that was on his stomach. Purple chakra formed on the fingertips of the man. Naruto's eyes widened when he realized what he was about to do. He squirmed and growled, trying to release the hold that Orochimaru had on him. It was wasted effort. He had no strength left.

"Gogyo Fuin!" He exclaimed before pressing his fingertips against Naruto's stomach. Naruto gagged and snarled. He could hear Kyuubi doing the same. After a moment, Orochimaru pulled back and saw that there were new marks around the seal. Naruto's features didn't let up, for some odd reason. But the red chakra that was surrounding him suddenly died back down. Naruto instantly passed out. He threw him to the side carelessly, seeing no use for him anymore. Sakura looked up and gasped. She leaped out to catch him, but she was also caught by the man's tongue. Panicking, she threw a few kunai at him and it caught on his orange jacket. She glared at the man before her.

"LET ME GO, YOU FREAK!" She thrashed at him. He smirked.

"You're a feisty one, aren't you? But that's fine, because all I need from you is _this!" _He reached into her pouch and pulled out the heaven scroll, before throwing her in the same direction as Naruto. She was able to catch herself, and focus the chakra to her feet in order to land safely on the bark. She glared at Sasuke.

"Okay, I get it! I'm annoying, I'm a bitch, and I can't even get close to your abilities! But at least I'm not the one shivering in fear. At least… I'm doing something!" She yelled at him. Sasuke stood there staring. He slowly closed his eyes, picturing his older brother. Taking a trip down memory lane, he saw the corpses of his clan. He saw his mother and father, laying in a pool of blood. Then he saw Itachi, staring at him. _You're not strong enough… You don't have enough hate… go ahead, run away and live… live in shame…_

_No… no…NO!_ Sasuke screamed inside. He opened his eyes to reveal the Sharingan. _If I don't have the power to face this guy… how the hell can I face HIM!? _Orochimaru smirked and released his summoning jutsu.

_I guess I can toy with him for a while. Let's see how strong the Uchiha's blood runs through him. _Orochimaru thought evilly.

_Good. He's back to reality. _Sakura smiled to herself. Sasuke sped off towards Orochimaru and threw a few kunai. They were dodged and he came at Sasuke with incredible taijutsu. Sasuke kept countering and countering, not finding the right time to attack. When he finally let his guard down, Sasuke went to punch, but he jumped in the air. Sasuke's eyes followed him. Orochimaru ran around him, faster than Lee did back in the academy. But there was one difference. He could _see _him now. Sasuke smirked and dodged the snake man's attack. While in the air, Sasuke used his Katon jutsu and released a great wall of flames against him. This was the largest wave of fire Sakura ever saw from Sasuke. Orochimaru vanished into the flames, but cam at him through the bark of the tree. Sasuke saw through it and jumped farther back. The stranger watched him.

_You really are a true Uchiha. The blood that runs through you… is true… _He thought to himself. He sent a gush of at Sasuke, breaking the tree that was originally there. Sasuke dodged it however, and showed up behind the snake. He flipped him upside down and grabbed him. He dropped at incredible speed and slammed Orochimaru's head on one of the branches, cracking it. Sasuke jumped back and eyed his work. His eyes widened when he realized it was a substitution jutsu. He jumped away just in time so that he wouldn't get stabbed by the barrage of kunai and shuriken that came at him. He landed on a branch, but he was hit by incredibly powerful kicks and punches. He fell to the ground with Orochimaru standing over him.

"Is this really all the power you have? You've disgraced your family's name." He went on. Suddenly, an explosive went off on the back of Orochimaru, sending him foreward. Sasuke immediately stood up and jumped away, throwing shuriken around the tree he was in. They were all attached to fine wire, and it strapped Orochimaru to the trunk. His eyes widened.

"Sofushasan no tachi!" He exclaimed when he realized what they were. Sasuke smirked and formed a handsign, keeping the wire in his mouth.

"Ryuuka no jutsu!" He yelled, being engulfed in a wave of fire that travelled through the wire and burst onto its target. Orochimaru screeched in agony and pain, the tree lighting ablaze behind him. Sakura smiled.

"You did it!" She exclaimed happily. Sasuke panted roughly while walking towards Sakura. He was too tired to hear the wires snap behind him. He was shocked when suddenly couldn't move. Sakura gasped.

"S-Sasuke! Look out!" She warned, but he couldn't move. Orochimaru stretched his neck and bit down hard on Sasuke's. As he let go, a cursed seal formed on his neck. Sasuke was let off the jutsu and he collapsed in pain. He clutched his neck and screamed in pain. Sakura ran over to him.

"Sasuke!?" She glared at Orochimaru. "What did you do to him?!"

"Oh, Sasuke-kun. You certainly have become skilled with the sharingan. You might have even surpassed your brother's. But if you ever want to see me again, pass this exam with a perfect score. That also means that you have to defeat my three sound ninjas." Sakura scoffed.

"Why would he ever want to see you again?!" Sakura yelled back at him. Orochimaru smirked.

"Sasuke-kun will seek me for power. Until then, I hope that he will enjoy my goodbye present!" With that, Orochimaru digested into the tree. Ssuke gagged and started to tremble in pain. Sakura watched in shock, not really sure what to do. After a few more moment, Sasuke collapsed and became unconscious. Realizing how much she stood out, she grabbed Naruto and Sasuke and ran back to the small cave they were in originally.

* * *

**Day 2**

* * *

Sakura laid many traps outside of the cave, just in case someone decided to jump them. She laid Naruto and Sasuke side by side, and had wet rags over both of their heads. She used some of her medical ninjutsu to keep their fevers down. A vegue purple mist was radiating from Sasuke's body. No matter what she did, she couldn't stop it. As for Naruto, he was sweating madly. He sometimes began shaking for no reason, and other times he would just sleep silently. She was keeping such a close eye on them that she didn't notice that she had dozed off.

When she woke up, she mentally scolded herself for falling asleep. She heard a rustle in the bushes not too far from their spot and got a kunai ready. What came out was a small squirrel, but Sakura instantly saw the paper bomb attached to it and threw the kunai. It scurried off quickly. She narrowed her eyes. Someone was nearby.

As expected, three ninja came out of hiding. She stood and walked towards them.

"So, I'm assuming that you are the three sound ninjas that Orochimaru talked about." Sakura started, catching them off guard. "Just so you know, Sasuke's unconscious. You can't fight him." A small fit of laughter came from the lead ninja.

"Oh, that's too bad. Listen girl, just step aside and let the big boys do their thing." He said. Sakura glared at him, making a hand sign.

"I can play your game." She muttered under her breathe. She got in a stance to fight, making the female of the group laugh.

"Look at her, thinking she can fight." She laughed. "She spends more time on her hair then ninja training."

"No, my hair's naturally this beautiful. Jealous much?" Sakura smirked. The girl came at her, but the lead one yelled at her.

"KIN! STOP!" Kin stopped. She turned at Zaku. "Damn. I didn't think you were _that _stupid. Look at your surroundings for once!" Kin looked down and saw that she was one step away from stepping into an obvious trap. She stepped away from the trap and chuckled.

"What a pathetic trap." She sneered before jumping at Sakura, who used a kunai to cut a wire. Kin looked back and saw a large log swing at all the 3 of the sound ninja. Zaku grinned and stopped it with ease.

"If you really think that a move like that will stop us, think again!" Zaku laughed at her. Sakura smirked.

"I was just testing see if you guys weren't totally worthless. I guess Orochimaru wasn't joking after all." Sakura said. "Okay, you're a bunch of sound ninjas. I assume that means that you use sound waves to attack, looking back at Naruto's symptoms a while back." Zaku gave a small chuckle.

"Sharp one we have here." He said. Dosu ran at her quickly, but she jumped out of the way. She landed on a tree branch. She jumped from it and began using a hand sign. She made another clone of herself, which threw 5 shuriken at Dosu. He dodged them with ease.

"A sharp one, but not a skilled one. Do you really think that simple shuriken can hurt-" He started, but suddenly was strapped with wire. Sakura smirked as she saw the shuriken poof into another clone of herself, holding the other end of the wire. Both Sakura's jumped in the air, pulling Dosu high up. The third Sakura on the branch leaped above all three of them, and held up her leg to kick. She swung her leg down on Dosu's head, breaking the wire and having him plummet to the ground. He fell at great speed and landed roughly on his back. Two of the Sakuras poofed away and the original stuck her landing. She thought she had defeated him, but was shocked when he stood up swiftly.

"I have to say, even though I landed on pure dirt, that hurt like hell. Now, let me show you _my _moves." Dosu ran at her and went to punch, but she quickly dodged. He kept coming at her with punches, in which she avoided them. She had to lead them on until at least ONE of her teammates woke up. Suddenly, Sakura collapsed, vomiting.

"You might be able to dodge my attacks, but you can't avoid my vibrations." He chuckled. Sakura's eyes widened when a large wave of pain went through her head. She clutched her head firmly and let out a scream. "You know, the human ear drum will break when it hears a sound that exceeds the limit. I damaged your circular canals, so you might not be able to move for a while." Sakura glared at him, before forcing her body to move. Dosu's eyes widened when she saw her reach her feet. She was stumbling, but she reached her feet nonetheless.

"I have to say, it's impressive that you can still move, but I'm afraid that I'll have to end this."- She came at him, hoping to land at least some kind of kick. Dosu lifted his right arm to show a metal device attached to it. He smirked and used it, blaring the sound waves at her. The waves bended into her ear and she screeched, grabbing her ear. It began to bleed, and she dropped to the ground in pain. Dosu explained, "This piece of metal amplifies sound waves. It's almost like a speaker. I use my chakra to direct the sound waves right into your ear. Now, I'm certain you won't be able to fight anymore." Sakura shook uncontrollable, her ear bleeding out. She saw Dosu walk towards the cave, and she instinctively reached for a kunai. She tried to throw it, but it missed its target by a long shot. The other sighed and turned around to look at her.

"You really want to die, don't you?" He muttered. Kin smiled and walked over to her.

"I'll take care of this princess!" She laughed. Sakura glared at her, still unable to run away. Kin grabbed the girl's hair and held a kunai at her neck. "Now don't move, or I'll have to kill you!" Sakura didn't catch the hint, and squirmed uncontrollably. Frowning, Kin stabbed the weapon into her neck, but it was a substitution. Zaku's eye widened.

"She had enough strength left to use the substitution?" He asked. Kin looked around for her.

"If she's smart, she left already!" She said. At that moment, Karin heard footsteps from behind her and turned around. She blocked the kick that Sakura threw at her, but it ended up spraining her arm.

"Shit! T-that fucking hurt you bitch!" Kin cursed at her. Sakura tried smirked, but still held her ear in pain. Zaku chuckled.

"She barely has the energy to stand!"

"Before you get to them, you have to kill me first!" Sakura growled. He shook his head and laughed slightly.

"She'll never learn." Unknown to them, Shikamaru, Ino and Choji were watching the whole scene. Ino crossed her arms.

"Why the hell are we still doing here?! We found the second scroll, let's go!" She whispered. Shikamaru looked at Sakura for a moment, before glaring at Ino.

"You just want to leave her there? I know you guys never got along but-"

"But nothing! Sakura and I were never friends, nor will we ever be! I don't care what happens to that wench!" She hissed back. Shikamaru frowned at her.

"But if you don't save her, Sasuke and Naruto will die." He said. Ino thought for a moment before sighing.

"I don't want Sasuke to die." She muttered.

"So what's the plan?" he asked once more. Ino groaned in frustration.

"I don't know! Even if I do go out there to help her, that's just going to get me killed!" Ino whispered back.

"So you're just going to let 'your love' die?!"

"What else am I supposed to do?!" Ino finally said back. Shikamaru just sighed and looked on.

"This is such a drag…" He breathed. Choji trembled in fear of the ninja.

"G-g-guys… can we go now?" He asked fearfully.

Back in the cave, Kyuubi was trying desperately to break this new seal. He was also trying to figure out why Naruto hadn't returned to his normal state. Subconsciously, Naruto decided to confront the demon about this. Never entering his subconscious before (He originally was going to, but decided against it after the Zabuza incident), he was surprised when it looked like a large sewer. He walked through the passage, being mindful of the water that was under him, and he reached a large cage. That's when he saw him. Kyuubi in the flesh.

"So you finally decide to pay me a visit, I'm flattered." The demon growled, glaring at him. Naruto frowned at him.

"Ah, stop pouting. I'm sorry that I didn't want an old destructive demon taking over my body and murdering everyone in my path." Naruto replied sarcastically. He noticed that Kyuubi looked stressed and angry. "So what did that snake freak do to us?"

"He used Gogyo Fuin, or the Five Elements seal. It's a seal that blocks me from using my chakra, and can even stop you from using your own chakra. The seal has created some sort of imbalance in you. Now I can't switch you back from the state you're in." He explained. Naruto's eye twitched.

"I… have to stay like _this?!" _He exclaimed, pointing at his face. Kyuubi growled.

"Oh, please. That's not the least of your problems. You might not be able to use your chakra properly, if any. You need to get this removed, _immediately._" Kyuubi said. Naruto sighed in frustration.

"Fucking great!" Naruto spat in anger. After regaining his composure, he looked back at the demon. "Anyway, I guess I should say thanks for trying to fight off the seal." Kyuubi blinked and cocked its head. It had never been thanked before. Seeing it as a joke, he growled at Naruto and returned into the depts of the cage. Naruto chuckled and walked out of the dark sewers. After a moment, Naruto slowly regain consciousness. He sat up, shaking off the dizziness, and looked around. He saw that he was in a dark cave, and that he was sitting next to Sasuke. And boy_, _was that a sight to see. Sasuke's face was imprinted with dark marks. Coming off his body was some sort of purple chakra. Naruto had no idea what was going on.

_**He's been bit by Orochimaru. It's the Cursed Seal of the Heaven. Just letting you know Kit, there's no saving him now.**_

**He's gonna die?!**

_**No, idiot. Before, there might have been a chance of him giving up his revenge and vengeance goals. But now that he's been bit, nothing's going to stop him.**_

**Ah. Well, if that happens, I'll just have to stop him!**

_**No, kit. Trust me on this one. If you go after him, he's just going to bring you down with him. **_

**What's this? The angry and prideful Kyuubi acting all wise?**

_**Hm. I'm just letting you know that it's not worth it. If you heard that your father was alive and well, and you wanted to go after him, would you want someone stopping you?**_

…

_**Precisely. **_

Naruto nodded and looked outside. There were three sound ninjas at the ready, and Sakura was standing in front of the cave. Jumping to his feet, he ran to Sakura's side, scaring the living crap out of her.

"Holy-" She gasped when Naruto suddenly appeared next to her. "How long were you awake?!" She asked angrily, before noticing his facial features. "You're still stuck in the state?"

Naruto sighed. "I'll explain later, let's just kick these guys' asses!" Naruto cracked his knuckles. Sakura smirked.

"Right!" She exclaimed. Zaku raised a brow.

"What's up with his face?" He asked Dosu.

"I don't know, but it won't matter in the end right?" Shikamaru, Ino and choji were still watching the fight.

"So now Naruto's in the picture." Shikamaru mused. Ino scrunched her nose.

"I hate him so much."

"Who doesn't hate him?" Shikamaru said bluntly. Choji rose a hand shakily.

"I don't hate him." Choji said meekly. Out in the fight, Naruto grabbed his ears again and began to shake. Sakura looked at him.

"What happened to you?!" She asked. Naruto looked at her.

"Hearing… too much… sound… in the air… destroy… that amplifier." He managed to get out. Sakura nodded and ran at Dosu, who just shook his head. He raised his arm to attack, when Sakura used her last burst of Chakra to land a punch that was so powerful, it shattered the device. Dosu jumped back.

"This little girl just destroyed my amplifier!" He exclaimed to Zaku, who just stood there like an idiot. Naruto took his hands off his ears and grinned. He made a hand sign to use a jutsu, but the demon inside him screamed.

_**Stop it! I said that you couldn't use ninjustus while under this seal!**_

**So all I can use is taijutsu?!**

_**Pretty much.**_

"God damn…" Naruto started before charging at Kin. He threw a kick at her and she dodged it. She threw a few needles at Naruto, which he dodged. Naruto noticed the needles had bells on them. Once they stabbed into the tree behind him, his head began to hurt again. He looked back at Kin and noticed that his vision had blurred. He turned to Sakura. "Sakura-chan! Back me up!" With this, Sakura ran over and started attacking Kin. Not expecting this, Kin was knocked down easily. Dosu and Zaku began chuckling.

"You don't care that your own teammate just got knocked out?!" Sakura asked them. Zaku stepped up and raised his palms.

"We came here for one thing, and that is Sasuke." He laughed, getting ready to send and power gush of wind at them. Before he could, someone stepped out of the cave. It was Sasuke, practically drenched in purple chakra. Sakura's eyes widened and she backed up, while Naruto felt his hair stand up. A ghostly smirk came to the Uchiha's face. He began walking towards his team.

"… Morning?" Naruto joked lightly, earning a punch from Sakura. Sasuke chuckled and looked at them.

"It's fine." He laughed evilly. Naruto and Sakura stared at Sasuke. "So, which one of these guys did this to you, Sakura?" It was just then that Sakura noticed that there was a trail of blood running down her ear, and that she could barely stand.

"A-ah… it's no big deal, Sasuke-kun… W-what happened to your body?"

"I… I feel great… I understand now… I'm an avenger." Sasuke said, more confidently now. Sakura flinched at the words, but Naruto sighed. He now knew that this is what Kyuubi meant. "What Orochimaru gave to me… was a gift." Sakura listened silently before looking down sadly.

_So this is what he meant… at the beginning… _She thought.

' "**My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I hate many things, but I don't particularly like anything." Sasuke muttered bluntly. Sakura frowned at him while Kakashi stared curiously. "My dream…. Is not a dream… because I WILL make it a reality. I will avenge my clan… and kill a certain someone…" The whole group went silent as Sasuke finished.'**

Naruto looked at her and shook his head, knowing that she understood what Sasuke meant. Sasuke glanced at Sakura. "I'll ask again; who did this to you?"

"What does it matter, Sasuke? I'M the one you should be worried about!" He yelled at him, giving him a cocky smirk. Naruto rolled his eyes and grabbed Sakura's arm.

"Let's get out of Sasuke's way, this dumbass is about to die." Naruto said shortly. Sakura didn't know what to think, so she just complied. Zaku didn't like being ignored, so he aimed his hands at those two.

"What did you call me you brat?!" Zaku growled. "Zankuha!" He yelled, causing a gush of slicing sound waves at them. After the attack had been used, the area had been shown to be cleared. He smirked at himself.

"Don't think you destroyed us." A voice came from behind him, and Sasuke was shown with both of his teammates behind him. Dosu's eyes widened.

_Such speed! _He thought.

Sasuke used his Katon jutsu, which Zaku quickly countered with his air splitter. In the flames came a wave of shuriken that cut through Zaku painfully. With incredible speed, Sasuke showed up behind him and grabbed his arms, yanking them while shoving his foot onto his back. Zaku tried to look back.

"W-what are you doing?!" He cried. Naruto felt memories of seeing his own death reappear, so he turned around and fell to his knees. Sakura didn't notice because she was too shocked at what Sasuke was doing. Sasuke had a sadistic grin on his face, and his eyes showed what he was about to do.

"I bet you are very proud of these arms… I _bet _it would just be the _worst _if someone were to, I don't know, _rip them off_!?" Sasuke snickered evilly before taking Zaku's arms and breaking them in cold blood. Just the sound alone was enough to fully bring back the terrible memory of seeing his death, and Naruto started vomiting. Sakura gasped and watched the whole scene with wide eyes. She couldn't look away despite desperately wanting to. She listened as Zaku screamed and writhed in pain. Sasuke smiled at his work before turning to a distraught Dosu.

"You're next!" Sasuke laughed, walking towards him. Sakura watched Sasuke carefully, before forcing herself to move. She started out stumbling, then limping, then walking, until she was finally running after Sasuke. In a last desperate attempt to stop him, she flung her arms around him and began to cry into his back. He glared at her instinctively, but after seeing her tear soaked face, the marks all over his body receded. His glare faded and he became less tense. Sakura sobbed into his back, pleading for him to stop. After the marks had faded back into his neck, Sasuke dropped and began coughing.

Dosu back away, trying to regain his composure after the disturbing scene. "S-Sasuke… we cannot fight at the moment. You can have our scroll for now. Take it as a parting gift. Next time we meet, however, I promise you to not run away."

Sakura glared at him. "HEY! You better pray to GOD that if you EVER come near us again, that you won't end up like your worthless teammates!" She yelled at him in anger. Dosu grabbed Kin and Zaku and began to walk away. When they were gone, Sakura looked at Sasuke. Seeing the mark, she gave a sad sigh. Naruto was still sitting farther back, trying to get rid of the horrible sight in his mind. In the bushes sat three very traumatized genin, watching team 7.

"Was… that really Sasuke…?" Ino asked in a weak voice. Shikamaru gulped and grabbed both his team mates' arms, taking them away from the scene. Naruto slowly stood up and grabbed the scroll that was given to them. All three of them didn't say a word for the rest of the walk. They reached a small river and decided to rest there for the night. Sakura went and caught some fish while Sasuke made a fire with his Katon jutsu. Naruto kept an eye out for any intruders. It soon became dark and Sakura had quickly fallen asleep, which was much needed since she hadn't had a lick of refreshing sleep since they started the exam. Sasuke and Naruto didn't have anything to say to each other, so they kept quiet.

Naruto looked at his reflection on the river, and saw that he truly still had his red eyes, sharp fangs, and dark whiskers. He found himself lost in his reflection until Sasuke broke the void he was in.

"Oi, Naruto." Sasuke said. Naruto looked back. "Can you do me a favor?" Hesitantly, Naruto nodded. "Never mention this mark to anyone."

He waited a minute before replying. "You know Kakashi will notice it quickly."

"I don't care. Just keep your mouth shut on this." Sasuke said more firmly. Naruto sighed.

"I just hope you know what you're doing." Naruto breathed. His ears twitched when he heard a rustle in the bushes nearby. He and Sasuke jumped up, ready to fight. Who came out was Kabuto. Naruto glared at him.

"Now, now, before you go glaring at me. I don't need your scroll." Kabuto smiled gently, holding both hands up. Sasuke didn't let up.

"Then why are you here?" Sasuke asked darkly. Kabuto adjusted his glasses.

"See, I would like to ask to be brought to my team mates, with your help." Kabuto explained. "In return, I'll give you an extra heaven scroll I found." Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other before nodding.

"Alright. But if you break your promise, I'll kill you on the spot." Sasuke said. Naruto eyed Sasuke suspiciously. They woke up Sakura and explained the situation to her. They left with Kabuto. When they reached a fair distance, Sakura was able to see through a genjutsu nearby.

"I sense a genjutsu." Sakura stated bluntly. She was still tired since she was woken up early. Kabuto nodded and looked on ahead.

"Hmm, true. The tower doesn't look like it should. To be safe, let's go around it." He ordered.

* * *

**Day 3**

* * *

After Naruto sensed a weird presence, they decided to quicken the pace. They reached the base of the tower in a few hours, and it was practically the break of dawn. It was the start of day 3. Sakura was already cranky enough when she had her sleep, but now she was practically a zombie. Naruto and Sasuke were pretty exhausted as well. Kabuto seemed to be the only one who was actually awake. When they were at the doors, Kabuto pulled out a heaven scroll and gave it to Naruto. Just as he did, his team mates stepped out of hiding.

"Care to explain." One of them said. Kabuto smiled.

"These genin escorted me here, so I offered them an extra heaven scroll. It's harmless." He explained. His team mates nodded.

"Well, let's go. We don't want to keep our sensei waiting." They said. Naruto narrowed his eyes at Kabuto, who smiled at them.

"Thanks for escorting me. I'll see you in the finals." He said before walking into the tower. Naruto shook his head and turned to his team. They walked into the large tower, ready to finally open their scrolls.

* * *

_**A/N**_

**WHOO! Long chapter! Very very VERY long chapter! Over 8,000 words! *_* **

**Yus! I feel accomplished in this chapter! I really, really, REALLY want to get to the time skip. That's where the fun starts! With Kyuubi, and Naruto, and the akatsuki oooh I can't wait. *spazzes like a little fangirl* **

**Ahem... reviews are always nice. And to answer a question someone asked me, no it will not be every single episode. Girl, you cray-cray. Only the major ones, and possibly my own little episodes after the time skip! Gotta be creative, right? And on behalf of a review and all NaruSaku fans, this WON'T be a NaruSaku fic. BUT! But, Naruto will be with someone from the Naruto series... I wonder who that could be...?**

**Till the next chapter guys!**


	9. Chunin Exams (Part 3)

**Backstabbers**

* * *

**Ch. 9- Chunin Exams (part 3)**

* * *

_**Kyuubi Speaking**_

**Naruto thinking**

"Someone speaking**"**

_Someone thinking_

'_**FlashBack'**_

**(Author's input)**

*****_**Sakura's inner conscience***_

* * *

Team 7 stepped into the tower. Naruto felt a chill go up his spine. Something felt wrong about letting Kabuto go like that. Sasuke noticed.

"What's wrong? You seem out of it." He said to him. Naruto shook his head.

"Nothing. Just got a bad feeling." He muttered. There was a long pause of silence before Sasuke sighed defeatedly.

"Uh, Naruto?" He started. Naruto looked at him. "Back at the land of waves…" Naruto's eyes widened at the sudden memory.

"Why are you bringing that up?!" He almost spat in fear.

**And why now of all the damn times?!**

"… I just wanted to say… th…" He went on. He pause before mumbling the rest. From what Naruto's ears could hear, it sounded like he said 'thank you'. But Sasuke? Uchiha? Thanking _him? _Must have been a mistake.

"Rewind that and repeat it." Naruto replied. A long, dreadful (Very shikamaru-like) sigh came.

"Thank you. Are you happy?" He thanked. Naruto couldn't believe his ears. He actually thanked him… but for what?

"For what exactly?"

"You dobe. For killing Haku." He answered. Naruto stared at Sasuke for the longest time before eying Sakura, who was looking very guilty.

"Yeah… don't mention it." He said slowly, starting to piece together what happened in the hidden mist. Realizing that his team mates were focusing on him, he turned attention to the room in general. "Um, what's that say up there?" He asked as he pointed to a sign in front of them. Sakura cleared her throat and read it out loud.

"If heavenly qualities are what you desire, allow wisdom to take you higher. If Earthly qualities are what you lack, train your body to attack. When Earth and Heaven mix into one, the path will be righteous forever. This 'something' is what guides us today…"Naruto took out both the earth scroll and the Heaven scroll.

"Exactly what is this something?" He asked himself, looking at the scrolls.

"Perhaps now we're supposed to open the scrolls?" Sakura suggested. All of them nodded and carefully opened the scrolls together. They saw the seal on it being lifted and smoke suddenly came from it. Realizing it was a summoning scroll, they threw both of them to the other side of the room. When the smoke cleared, it showed Iruka, much to their surprise.

"I-Iruka?!" Naruto choked out. Iruka smiled at him.

"I knew you guys could do it. I didn't doubt you for a second." He said to them. Ironically during the entire exam he had been doubting that the team would be able to keep up in the chunin exams. Sakura sighed in relief.

"Man, you scare me sensei. Why are you here?" She asked.

"Chunin's are required to welcome the test takers back. It was pure luck for me to be the messenger for you guys." Iruka checked his watch. "You guys are quite early. Thankfully, you guys have some time to rest. You all look worn out!" Iruka suddenly exclaimed when he got a good look at them. Naruto rolled his eyes, remembering how Iruka was never the brightest. The sensei did a double take when he saw Naruto, though. He honestly wanted to just run and keep away from him at all costs, but decided against it. But just for a quick second, he flashed those cold eyes at Naruto. And that quick second was enough for Naruto to understand what he was thinking. That he was a _demon._

"It's fine. So, what would have happened if we had opened the scroll?" Sasuke asked him. Iruka smiled and shook his head.

"Well, we were ordered to knock you out until the test was over. Some learned that the hard way. This test was to see if you could see a difficult mission through to the end." Iruka went on. "Now, I bet you're wondering what this sign means."

"Yeah, we were just talking about it." Sakura added.

"If heavenly qualities are what you desire, allow wisdom to take you higher. Basically, if you lack intellect and knowledge, you should train more in that category. If earthly qualities are what you lack, train your body to attack. If you lack physical strength, train your body each day so it improves. When Earth and Heaven mix into one, the path will remain righteous. If you can allow both your mind and body to work together, then even the most challenging missions can be done with ease." Iruka explained.

"Okay, then what about the blank spot?" Naruto asked, more harshly than he wanted.

"That's for you three to input." He smiled, but it suddenly faded. Looking at Naruto, he sighed sadly. Naruto took it offensively.

"Got something to say?" Iruka looked up.

"It's just… I don't want you to push yourselves during the third part of the exam." He said finally. It was more aimed at Naruto then his other team mates. This made him a little mad.

"Stop that." He said firmly. Sakura and Sasuke looked at him. "I'm not your student anymore so you can stop treating me like a kid!" Iruka's eyes widened before he shook his head.

"You're right Naruto, I'm sorry." He apologized. He remembered back to when he was consulting about team 7 with Kakashi.

' "**Iruka needs to hear this. He needs to let Naruto go and except that I'm his teacher now." Kakashi said. Iruka glared at him.**

"**I'm not saying they aren't-"**

"**Oh, please. This isn't about team 7. This isn't about Sasuke or Sakura. This is all about Naruto, isn't it?" Kakashi argued back. Iruka stiffened at the name. "Look. I know you care about him, but **_**I **_**have faith in him. And that's all that matters at this point." With that said, Iruka looked back at the ground. He couldn't look Kakashi in the eye anymore.'**

_I guess I might not have what it takes to take care of you anymore… but perhaps Kakashi does… _Iruka thought to himself. Naruto relaxed a little, but still eyed Iruka weirdly. They were escorted inside to where they could finally get some rest.

* * *

**Day 5**

* * *

All 21 contestants were lined up with their teams. Anko scanned them all, shocked that so many had passed. She smirked.

_The more the better. _She thought. Ino looked over and saw Sasuke's group, still injured, but at least now they were fully rested. She smiled.

"Ah! Sasuke's group passed!" She giggled, much to Shikamaru's displeasure.

"Yeah… whoopee." He muttered lazily. He thought back to the little stunt Sasuke pulled back in the forest and shuddered. He didn't know what happened, and he doesn't want to know now. All of the jonin's that instructed the teams were lined up as well. Gai was standing next to Kakashi, mouthing off as usual.

"I see that your team has passed the second part. But now's the part where it gets real. The third parts all about ability, and my team's got you outdone. But… in life, we all have to deal with all our share of heartbreaks and tragedies, right kakashi?" He chuckled, side glancing at him. Kakashi lazily looked over, yawning.

"Hm? Did you say something?" He replied bluntly.

"OH MY GOOOOOOD!" Gai screamed, catching the attention of ALL the genin. If this was Gai's world, the room would have gone pitch black and one bright spotlight would have been over him.

"Damn you Kakashi, acting all cool!" He muttered under his breathe angrily. Kakashi raised a brow, confused of what happened. Tenten smiled, shaking her head. Lee, enlightened by this, turned and tapped Naruto's shoulder. Naruto glanced over carelessly.

"Hm?" He hummed. Before he got here, he was forcefully waken up by Anko, and practically _dragged _by his jacket (which was very torn up and dirty, by the way). Lee showed a blaze of fire in his eyes.

"Did you hear gai sensei? He just declared to your sensei that you guys would no match for us! I know it may be hard to believe, but I cannot go easy on any of you! Even on my precious Sakura! I'm just letting you know that my team is fierce, and we won't give up until the bitter end!" Lee almost shouted confidently. Everyone and their mother could hear his loud speech. Naruto stared at him blankly.

"Was that all you had to say?" He replied coldly. Lee gasped WAY too overly dramatic for Naruto's taste, and had to look away from him.

"Was that all I had to say?! I just poured my heart and soul into that speech and he brushed it off like it was nothing!" Lee exclaimed. Naruto cocked his head to the side before looking at his team mates for answers. Judging by the 'you are so pathetic' glance from Sasuke, and the facepalm Sakura did, he was guessing that he missed a valuable point here. Anko cleared her throat, grabbing the attention of the amused teams.

"Alright! The third hokage is about to explain the second round to you! You better listen up!" With that, the Hokage stepped up.

"First, before I explain, let me tell you the true purpose of this exam." He started. "To increase friendship and loyalty, that's certain. But the main point… so to speak…" His words suddenly became unconfident and shallow. Naruto narrowed his eyes. Taking a smoke from his pipe, the hokage sighed. "It's a representation of the battles between allied nations! In order to decrease chances of wasting precious military power, we decided to bring the fighting to one area. This was how the chunin exams began."

Akamaru barked. "So, why did we have to take these exams?!" The hokage sigh and glanced at Kiba.

"These exams are for Chunin promotion. But on the other hand, this is to show which ninja are worthy of carrying their village's pride on their backs. Famous people from all kinds of countries have been honored here as guests. Those rulers will watch you. If there is a gap in power, the stronger the country is, the more jobs that will be offered. As for a weaker country, their jobs will decrease. The stronger our nation is, the easier it will be to hold our position with neighboring countries. It is important to have strong military strength."

"So why do _we _have to risk our lives?!" Ino suddenly spat, but slapped a hand over her mouth. Sakura glared at her. The hokage went silent for a moment.

"The country's strength is the village's strength, and the village's strength is the shinobi's strength. And the true strength of a shinobi is only shown in a life or death situation."

**So that's why… at the Zabuza incident… **

_**Yes. At that moment, you were put in a situation where your comrade had fallen. Not only had that made you mad, but it also put in a position to be killed easily. And that's when you tapped into my power.**_

**Of course, not with my consent. That would be too nice.**

_**Well, being in your state of mind at the time, you would have agreed either way.**_

**You don't know that. But at least now I have a good hold on you until I get this damn seal taken off us.**

_**Damn right. And please hurry it up. I don't like to be kept waiting.**_

**Droning you out once more.**

Naruto tuned back in to the Hokage.

"-with that said, I will now explain the details of the third exam." The hokage said. A man with dark hair jumped in front of him.

"Excuse me, lord hokage. Allow me, Gekkou Hayate, to explain." He asked before going through a series of coughing. It got to the point to where it almost became contagious. "Before we start the third exam, we have to go through the preliminaries."

"Preliminaries?!" Shikamaru exclaimed.

"Yes. You see, the exams might have been too easy. There's just a lot more of you than we'd thought there'd be." He explained.

Naruto joined in. "So this is basically a sudden death round."

"Exactly. There are important people coming to see this. We can't waste their time. So, if anyone feels that they are not in good physical condition to fight or you would like to quit, please raise your hand. This will not affect your team mates in anyway." Hayate continued. Sasuke shook his head.

_Who in their right mind would quit- _Sasuke started thinking but was cut off by a sudden pulse from his seal. He grabbed his neck and tried to bare the pain. Sakura gulped and tried to help him, only to be pushed off. Seeing it as useless, she turned her back at Sasuke. Naruto watched her and sighed, shaking his head.

_**Well at least she's not acting like a love sick puppy.**_

Naruto was about to respond to Kyuubi when a hand rose out of nowhere. It was Kabuto's. Hayate brought out his clipboard and flipped through the papers, stopping at one.

"I see, from the Leaf Village, Yakushi Kabuto. Okay, you can head to the back." He said quietly. Kabuto smiled and began to walk away. Naruto eyed him the entire way. Something was not right about him. And he didn't like it one bit.

_Oh, I can tell that Naruto-kun is staring me down. Orochimaru, you better be careful. He might just be onto us. Hehe, but for now, I leave it to you and Yoroi. _Kabuto thought mischievously._ Till we meet again, Sasuke… and of course, you too Naruto-kun._

Naruto stared him down for the longest time before returning to reality. He scanned the jonin's. His eyes stopped on a certain one. It was a sound nin, and it was a female. Something about her gave off a weird vibe. Naruto shook his head and looked at Hayate. No one else wanted to quit (Though it would probably be best for Sasuke to quit. But he's too cool for that, right?) so it was time to start the rounds.

"Now it's time for the preliminaries. Since we now have 20 contestants, we'll have 10 matches. The two fighting will be chosen at random on the board. When you fight, you fight till one of you dies, tap out, get knocked out, or if I call the match off." He explained. The electronic board behind him began to work and it scrolled through all the names. While this was happening, Kakashi called Naruto over.

"So about that seal…" He started, but Naruto stopped him.

"Sorry, Kakashi. Sasuke told me not to say anything, and he's kind of being an ass right now, and I really don't want to deal with him- "

"I'm not talking about the cursed seal." Kakashi spoke. Naruto thought for a moment.

"You mean… me?" He asked him. His sensei nodded. "How did you know?"

"Well, I know that Orochimaru marked Sasuke. I also know that he can do the Five Elements Seal. Looking at you, I just took a wild guess."

"No, I wanted to look like a psychotic demon for the rest of my life."

"You need to get that fixed. The villagers are already stingy as it is. When they see your features, they might be reminded of what happened not too long ago." He explained. Naruto nodded. "I might know someone who can help you out, but you have to promise me something."

"I'm all ears."

"No jutsus." Kakashi ordered, and the other face faulted. "Seriously. It's not that you can't use chakra, but the flow of it has been disturbed. You won't be able to tap into _its_ chakra, nor can you control your own properly. Until you get that seal taken off you, use your tricks and taijutsu."

"Well that's just fucking great. Looks like _it _wasn't kidding when he said that." Naurto said to himself. Kakashi listened curiously.

"You can talk to _it?" _He asked. Naruto hesitated for a moment, but decided to trust Kakashi.

"His name is Kyuubi. Well, technically Kurama, but I don't respect it that much to call him that." Naruto explained. A buzzard rang and behind them on the board show two bright names: Uchiha Sasuke VS Akadou Yoroi. Kakashi sighed.

"Right away, huh?" He muttered. Naruto glanced at Sasuke and saw a cocky grin on his face. The judge coughed and walked up to the arena. "We are going to start with that. Everyone else, go to the stands." He ordered. Naruto walked with Kakashi, who made sure to inform Sasuke of not using his sharingan. When they both made it to the stands, Gai sensei approached them.

"I see you have already taken him under your wing Kakashi!" Gai flashed a bright smile. "It seems that you have found a worthy rival for Lee. But I promise you that Lee is far more superior than Naruto. It's just how it is." He went on. He looked at Kakashi for a reply, but he had his face stuck in his Icha Icha Paradise. Realizing the sudden silence, he looked up from his book.

"Oh, were you talking to me?" He asked coolly. Another way too dramatic gasp came from Gai. Naruto wasn't listening to the two, er, _one _man bicker. He turned to Sakura, remembering earlier.

"So, you lied to the Uchiha." He began, getting a little pissed off. Sakura gulped and looked down.

"I thought he'd respect you more."

"If anything you made him hate me even more!" He growled. Sakura glared at him.

"I was just trying to help!" She spat back.

"I don't need help, I'm fine on my own you bitch!" He snapped back. More arguing commenced before Kakashi had to step in to break them up.

"How about you pay attention to your team mate, eh?" He suggested. They look forward at the arena. "Alright, you can begin." When he said that, Yoroi's hand began to glow with chakra. He came at Sasuke, who smirked. He tried to dodge quickly, but the seal gave another pulse. He fought through it and jumped out of the way in time. Yoroi threw some shuriken, and the latter countered it with some more. Again, another pulse of the seal. He dropped to the ground. He felt a presence behind him so he used his back legs to hold onto the other's incoming punch. Using pure strength, he flipped Yoroi over with his legs and grabbed his wrists, bending his arm the wrong way. Yoroi quickly grabbed Sasuke's chest and started to absorb his chakra. His eyes widened as he saw his arms slowly let go of the sound ninjas. The other lifted his hand and slammed it on Sasuke chest. Normally it wouldn't have done much, but for some reason, it hurt a lot more. He felt his chakra decrease and pushed Yoroi off him. He stumbled getting up, but he was shoved back down immediately. The man kept sucking the chakra out of him, and he felt his lust for power grow stronger. He tried pushing the hand off his head, but he had no strength left. In the stands, gaara watched him closely.

"Is that really all he can do?" He asked himself in a quiet voice. Naruto watched with wide eyes.

"He's taking his chakra!" He said. Kakashi and sakura got a little uneasy.

Sasuke felt all eyes on him and finally shoved the other off him. He quickly crawled up, trying to strategize. Thinking up a plan, he smirked. Yoroi came at him quickly, using his main arm to try and punch him. Sasuke barely dodged the attacks. After a few swings, Sasuke threw his right arm at him. He caught it, but before he could begin taking chakra, Sasuke threw his left one. He also caught. Sasuke then swung his leg to the side his face, in which he blocked. Now Sasuke was left in an odd position, but that was fine because he had a free leg to use all his strength with. Using his flexibility, he kicked Yoroi in the chin, sending both of them flying since he decided not to let go of Sasuke. Naruto saw this and pouted.

"He stole my move." He growled. Kakashi chuckled, remembering back to the survival excersise.

' **Naruto jumped and landed a kick right in the middle of his chest, in which the grey haired one caught. Using this, he used his opposite hand to try to punch his face, but it was caught as well. Now, Naruto was in an awkward position, and his body felt sore from the weird angle, but he continued. Now, Naruto was flipped sideways. He used his last leg to try and sweep Kakashi, but it was deflected easily. Now he was completely upside down, and that's what he wanted. He used his last hand to try and grab the bell. When Kakashi realized this, he dropped the boy immediately and back away.**

_**This kid! He's not half bad at all! Iruka wasn't lying! **_**Kakashi panted slightly along with Naruto. That's when Kakashi notice him. Sasuke wasn't too far from here, and he was once again waiting for him to drop his guard. '**

"Well, not exactly." Kakashi said. Naruto shook his head. Back to Sasuke, while Yoroi was in the air, he disappeared and reappeared behind him. Sakura and Lee's eyes widened.

"T-that's my move!" Lee exclaimed.

"Dancing Leaf shadow!" Yoroi exclaimed. Sasuke frowned.

"Yeah, I stole these two moves from a few people, but from here on out its all original." Sasuke informed. He was about to finish the deal when the seal on his neck started to expand. He gasped and grabbed it in pain. Kakashi stiffened and watched closely. Naruto and Sakura saw the curse mark travel to his face. The lust for power was tempting… almost _too _tempting. Like this was a set up. Naruto gained suspicion, looking around the room. He saw the same jonin from earlier, grinning evilly at the fight. He glared at her and tried to piece things together.

Sasuke almost succumbed to the mark when he heard Sakura's voice in his head. It was back in the forest, and she had grabbed him and began sobbing onto him. After seeing her cry, the mark started to fall back. What pushed it further was when Naruto started yelling at him.

"You Uchiha bastard! Don't you dare give in to that stupid mark! This guy's no big deal!" He yelled from the stands. "If you aren't strong enough to beat this guy on your own, than you can be damn sure you'll NEVER beat me, or fight me for that matter!" The last words echoed in the Uchiha's head. It was no secret that Sasuke was jealous of Naruto's strength. It was also no secret that he desperately wanted to fight him, whether it was in the exams, or in the training grounds. Feeling a boost of encouragement, the mark retreated back to its original size. Determined, Sasuke threw his leg up at Yoroi, which was blocked almost immediately.

"Hah! Not good enough!" He laughed, not ready for what Sasuke was planning. Sasuke swung over to the other side and slammed his arm on his chest, similar to how a lion would strike its prey. Yoroi fell at immense speed, but Sasuke didn't let up.

"I'm not done with you yet!" Sasuke growled. He brought his other leg up and brought it down hard onto the other's chest, just before he hit the ground. "Shi Shi Rendan!" Sasuke exclaimed as he did the move. He quickly lost his rebound and fell awkwardly. The judge went over to Yoroi and sighed.

"This one's had it." He started before glancing at sasuke, who stood up panting. "The winner is Uchiha Sasuke." He declared. Sakura smiled and Naruto shoved his hands in his pocket. Lee looked at him with fire in his eyes.

"Your words of encouragement brought him forward!" He exclaimed happily, too loudly in Naruto's ear. He rubbed his ear, annoyed by Lee's antics. Sasuke almost fell back, but Kakashi was there to break his fall.

"Not bad." Kakashi smirked. Sasuke shot a glare at him. "I think you know where we're going now."

"I'm fine-"

"Nope. We need to stop that seal. We've hold this off long enough, Sasuke." Kakashi explained, helping him up. Sasuke grunted and walked with Kakashi. The next match was with Shino and Zaku. Finding this boring, he scanned the room blankly. His eyes stopped on the sound ninja. It smirked evilly before poofing away suddenly. Naruto stared for a while. He had no idea why that jonin looked so suspicious, or why he kept giving Sasuke creepy stares. Unless…

He thought of Kabuto. After he helped him learn about Temari, he snuck in the main office and snatched the Bios of all the contestants. After researching him, he realized that he had dropped the exams 6 times before actually fighting. Kabuto was strange indeed.

From what Kyuubi informed him, Orochimaru bit Sasuke to give him power. Sasuke was a power hungry bastard to begin with, but now he actually _has _power. Orochimaru also put a seal on Naruto himself, stopping the demon's chakra flow, and even some of his. He sent three sound ninja after them, but for some reason they're not suspected for being Orochimaru's apprentices. Which means that he must be disguised as someone in order to give orders to them. And Kabuto was hanging around team 7 a whole lot… talking to them… helping them…

Naruto's eyes widened when he finally pieced it all together. He snapped up and started to speed walk out of the stands. If he looked too suspicious, a jonin would stop him. But what's so suspicious about a demon-looking child rushing to get out of an arena, eh? Sakura stopped him.

"Naruto, what the hell are you-" She asked but Naruto stopped her.

"Just stay here. I won't be gone long… hopefully." With that, Naruto snuck out of the exams. When he got out he sped off to where Kakashi and Sasuke might have gone. It was a large tower, so of course it took him a minute to find them. He walked into the pharmacy, checking if they were there. Of course, once the nurses got one look at Naruto, they forced him out. So now he just had to use sheer dumb luck. When he got close, he heard a faint painful scream coming from Sasuke. He followed the noise and entered the room where Kakashi was taming the seal.

"Naruto!" He exclaimed. Sasuke had already passed out by him. "You better have a good reason for being here!" Naruto panted, but he looked horrified. Kakashi's expression softened when he realized he had something important to say.

"Orochimaru… is in this building… right now… looking for Sasuke…" He said between pants. Kakashi's eyes widened. "A genin… named Kabuto… is helping him… along with sound ninja…" He explained further, weezing slightly.

"Calm down, Naruto. Take a breath." He said as Naruto was breathing hard.

"You've got a sharp kid, kakashi." A voice rang from behind them. Naruto turned around and saw him. Orochimaru was in the room. He got a flashback to seeing his demise and vomited on the floor. Kakashi glared at the snake and stepped in front of Naruto.

"What's your game?" kakashi asked. Orochimaru smirked.

"You know, I created the sound village." He said as-a-matter-of-fact. He smiled creepily. "I think you know where I'm going with this. Or at least you do, don't you Naruto-kun?" Naruto glared at him. "As always, but to play 'the game' I need pieces; pawns to do my bidding."

"And Sasuke is your pawn?" Kakashi growled.

"Oh no. Sasuke is far too valuable to be considered a pawn. But as for the others, just another part of the chess board. Pieces must be sacrificed!" He snickered evilly. He glanced at Naruto, making him tremble (Of course, because he was cold. It's not like Naruto was _scared _or something ridiculous like that. No way.). "If you would like, I could give you the same gift I gave Sasuke. Power. Power to take vengeance on this stupid village. Power to give you respect. You could be a special piece on the board too, If you want." Orochimaru suggested while stepping towards them. He bared his fangs, the same ones he used to make the seal on Sasuke. Kakashi suddenly realized exactly _who _he was suggesting this to, and Naruto never saw him more pissed off in his time as a ninja. Orochimaru paused for a moment before taking another step closer. Kakashi immediately jumped into a stance, holding his arm down as bright blue electricity formed on his hand.

"Don't take one step closer!" Kakashi warned in a firm voice. Naruto watched, amazed at Kakashi. He had seen the research that Kakashi actually knew how to do the Chidori, but he never believed it. And now that it was done right in front of him…. But that wasn't the most amazing part. The best part was what Kakashi said next. "I don't care if you are a sanin! If you take one more step towards _Naruto, _I'll make sure you're DEAD!" He threatened, stopping him in his tracks. Naruto's eyes widened.

**He's…. choosing **_**me **_**over Sasuke…?**

_**Well, that's a first.**_

…

Naruto stared at kakashi for a moment before smiling. For once, in a LONG time, he actually felt appreciated. Kakashi stared ahead, not taking his eyes of Orochimaru. The snake started to laugh at him.

"Poor Kakashi. You really think you can save them?" Orochimaru snickered. Naruto stood up.

"Look here, Snake-face! Sasuke might be going under, but I'm not goin' anywhere with you! I'm stayin' here!" He growled. As long as _someone_ had faith in him, _someone _had appreciated him, and _someone _had respected him, he wouldn't dare turn his back to the village. No matter how much he despised it.

Orochimaru chuckled. "Oh, Naruto-kun. Is that really how you feel? If you're that objective to it, I guess there's no point forcing you. Sasuke, however, has a heart that craves something more. He is an avenger, after all." Naruto and Kakashi glared at him.

"So, you plan on taking advantage on that? Is that what your game is?" Naruto pushed on.

"Naruto-kun, you poor soul. I'm afraid your comrade won't be staying for long. He will come to me for power. Sweet, delicious power." Orochimaru said finally, turning and walking out the room. "We'll meet again, nine tails." It was silent after he left. Kakashi stared at the fading figure before letting his Chidori stop.

_I'll make sure you'll die?! Am I out of my mind?! _Kakashi thought fearfully. Letting out a sigh, he turned back to Naruto. He was still slightly trembling (Once again, just the cold) and had his fists clenched. _Obviously, Sasuke is not the only one in danger here._

* * *

"The winner is Aburame Shino." Hayate declared. The medics pulled Zaku on the stretcher and pulled him out. The board began shuffling the names. Meanwhile a large puff of smoke formed behind Sakura, and appeared Naruto and Kakashi. She turned and nearly had a heart attack when she saw them. Kakashi smiled.

"Hi." He greeted. Sakura frowned.

"Hi? Hi?! Is that all you have to say?! What about Sasuke?!" Sakura asked frantically. Kakashi waved her off.

"Oh he's fine. He's sleeping soundly in the infirmary." He said. _Of course, not without the guard of the anbu black ops. _

Naruto walked over and pressed his head against the railing. Lee obviously didn't take the hint that he wanted to be left alone.

"Naruto! It is time to see who gets fought against! Will it be you? Will it be me? Will it be both of us?! The anticipation is killing me!" He kept screaming. Naruto honestly didn't care anymore who fought against who. Misumi and Kankuro had a match, of course Kankuro won. Next didn't surprise Naruto too much, but it was fairly interesting enough to make him pay attention to the actual fight. It was Ino VS Sakura. A smirk came to Sakura's face and she approached the arena. Ino came down and stood across from her.

"Are both sides ready?" The judge ask. "Then begin." Sakura was the first to come at her, using chakra to put some speed on her feet. Surprising Ino, she landed a punch on her stomach. Ino gagged and glared at her. She threw a kick, but Sakura dodged it easily. She disappeared and reappeared behind the blonde, kicking her back. Ino gasped when she flew forward. She caught herself and came to a stop. She didn't expect Sakura to have so much strength. Sakura charged at Ino once more, but this time throwing shuriken at her. Ino dodged them and held out her arms. Her fingers formed an oval, showing the mind transfer jutsu. Before she could use it, Sakura pulled her hand back, having the thin wire attached to the previous shuriken wrap around ino. She jumped into the air, bringing the other up with her. Sakura put the wire into her mouth and made a few hand signs. Ino struggled to get out of her grasp, but to no avail. A clone appeared next to Sakura. The clone grabbed a few kunai and plunged them into Ino's stomach. Of course, it was a substitution jutsu. Ino appeared behind Sakura, mid-air, and tried to land a punch on her. Sakura sensed it, however, and blocked it with a kick. The other clone reeled her arm back and punched Ino in the face. She fell quickly to the ground. The wire loosened and Ino broke free, catching her fall at the last minute. She panted roughly, watching Sakura stick her landing perfectly.

Ino growled and brought out a few needles. She quickly threw them at Sakura, who deflected them. Ino glanced up and saw the fine wire from before fall helplessly to the ground. Suddenly catching an idea, she brought out some shuriken. Feeling clever, she smirked at Sakura. She then tried to stand, but she was locked in place. She looked at Sakura who standing their grinning at her.

"Because I know you're clueless, I'll give you a hint. Wire can be used for many things." She giggled mischievously. Ino looked at the wire that had fallen on the ground. She noticed that her hand had fallen on it while she was thinking. Her eyes followed the trail of wire to Sakura's feet, in which she was stepping on it. Still not getting the picture, Sakura enlightened her. "I focused my chakra through the wire and into your hand. Now you can't move." Sakura made some more hand signs and created another clone. The clone grabbed some shuriken and got ready to attack. Ino smiled and held her hands up.

"Not so fast, pinky!" She laughed. "Mind transfer jutsu!" A howl ran through everyone's ears. There was a pause until both Sakura and Ino dropped. The clone that was next to her disappeared. Choji smiled.

"And now we've won!" He laughed. Naruto turned his head slowly and looked at him.

"The match hasn't been called yet. So shut your mouth." Naruto spat at him. Shikamaru was about to stick up for choji when he saw Naruto's face. He shuttered and looked away.

Sakura raised her head slowly, and she had a smile on her face. "Thanks billboard brow. I'll take good care of your soul." She said cockily. She was about to raise her hand when it was shot down. She had no control over Sakura's arm. She desperately tried to lift it, but it wouldn't budge. Confused, she used the other arm, but the same result. She growled and started to get frustrated, then there was a tap on her shoulder. She turned and saw a darker spirit of Sakura glaring at her.

***Well, hello. Ino-pig.***

_S-Sakura?! How did yo-?!_

***Hmm, I don't know. Just how did you wind up in **_**my **_**soul!? Ah, I guess that doesn't matter. You're getting out anyway!***

_Please! I dare you to-_

Inside Sakura's conscience, the inner Sakura grabbed Ino's throat and choked her. Ino tried to pry her hands from her throat, but she was too strong. Inner sakura suddenly increased in size, then wrapped both her hands over Ino's body. She suffocated her until she let off the jutsu. Her soul returned back to her body. She panted and coughed, grabbing her throat. She glared at Sakura.

"You have two spirits… just what are you?!" She asked. Sakura stood up with ease, putting a hand on her hip.

"Well, I'm obviously not the billboard slut I was back in grade school." She added with a grin. Ino tried to stand but she fell back down immediately. "This is what you get for watching me get hurt back in the forest." Ino's eyes widened when she said this. Sakura came at her and finished the deal with a hard kick to the side of her head. Ino was knocked out instantly.

"The winner is Haruno Sakura." The judged said. Choji stared wide eyed, but Shikamaru nodded.

"I guess that was expected." Shikamaru said. Naruto watched lazily, only half listening. He was thinking about Orochimaru and Kabuto. He wondered what attachment Kabuto had to the snake freak. He looked over and saw the board shuffling the names. When it stopped, it said: Temari VS TenTen.

"WHOO! GO TENTEN!" A certain green jumpsuit wearing kid screamed in Naruto's ear again (Which with hyperactive hearing, it hurts A LOT). "I BELIEVE IN YOU TENTEN! COME ON TENTEN, YOU CAN DO IT!" He continued to cheer. Unfortunately, Naruto was actually INTERESTED in this fight, so he couldn't leave the area. Shikamaru yawned lazily, which made him yawn as well. Great. Now he was tired and annoyed. Whoever's fighting against him is going to pay.

"You may begin." He started, and TenTen jumped back. She was carefully analyzing her distance, being in the perfect position to attack or defend. Temari grinned at this.

"Want me to make the first move? Then it will be the last!" She laughed. "Why don't you come at me? We don't want to end this too soon!" Tenten glared at her.

"Fine. But you asked for it!" With that, she jumped in the air and threw a few shuriken. To the regular eye, it just looked like Temari fidgeted, and the weapons fell at her feet. But Naruto's eyes were able to see for a split second, the use of her giant fan. "H-how did that miss?!" Tenten exclaimed.

"But Tenten never misses!" Lee yelled, again to Naruto's displeasure. Tenten suddenly saw the fan on her back and smirked. She ran around Temari and jumped in the air, bringing out a scroll. She spun around a few times in the swirls of her scrolls, all the while throwing kunai and shuriken. They were easily defected with her fan that was showing one purple dot.

"First moon!" Temari yelled.

"MAINTAIN FOCUS!" Lee cheered.

Tenten brought out two scrolls and rested them on the ground. She bent down and exclaimed, "Soshoryu!" The scrolls released a large wave of smoke, momentarily blinding Temari. The smoke shaped into two twin dragons as the scrolls spun and twirled in the air. Tenten jumped in between the scrolls, summoning all sorts of weaponry. Temari used her fan, showing the second purple dot, and deflected them.

"Second moon!" She yelled, but the other wasn't done. Tenten leaped into the air and used wire to control the fallen weapons. She unleashed all the weapons once more, yet Temari still used her fan to block them. Tenten stuck her landing, but then she saw the third dot.

"Third moon." Temari whispered with a sly smirk.

"DON'T GIVE UP TENTEN!" Lee screamed, and at this point Naruto lost all hearing in his left ear. Of course Gai would join in to make him lose his right.

"USE THE POWER OF YOUTH!" He cheered as well. Naruto glared at him. Temari suddenly disappeared from tenten's spot.

"Over here!" She called from behind her. She looked and saw Temari riding on her fan. She passed over her, giving a cocky smirk. "Futon!" She yelled before blasting Tenten in a sharp tornado. The wind cut her skin all over.

"She fought well, but she'll never escape that tornado." Neji said. After the tornado fell short, Tenten fell to the floor, only to be stopped by Temari who made her land on the top of her fan. Her back hit the edge of the fan and she was finished.

"How could tenten lose…?" Lee asked, more to himself. Naruto decided to answer.

"It was bad luck." Lee looked over. "From what I can tell, Tenten is skilled in weaponry. But since the weapons are thrown, the counterpart would be wind style attacks. Unfortunately for you, Temari happens to be a wind user." Naruto explained bluntly. Lee glared at Naruto, not liking his careless attitude towards his team.

With a bored look, Temari threw Tenten to the side of the room, in which Lee caught her. The judge came over and said that Temari was the winner.

"Well this match was pathetic." The blonde said bluntly. Lee glared at her.

"Look! I know that she lost, but that's no way to treat someone who has done her best!" Lee yelled. Temari rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, and so what?! Get out of here, and take that piece of shit team mate of yours out of here!" She threatened. Lee grinded his teeth, holding Tenten close. Seeing where this was going, Naruto jumped from the stands just in time to block Lee's attack against Temari.

"Not now, you dumbass!" He growled. Lee pulled his leg back down.

"Naruto, why are you getting in my way?!"

"Because if I let you do that then you might become part of the fan itself." Naruto replied coldly. Gai jumped down and stopped Lee as well. Gaara was getting impatient.

"Why are you wasting your time with that loser? Get back up here." He ordered with a monotone voice. Temari made her way up the stands, a confident smirk on her face. Lee glared at the sand team before heading back to the stands with Naruto and gai. Some medics came and took Tenten to get treated. The board began to shuffle once more, and it showed Nara Shikamaru VS Tsuchi Kin. Of course the winner was Shikamaru. It was plain to see. After that match the board shuffled the names and this time the pair was: Uzamaki Naruto VS Inuzuka Kiba.

"Oh great, I gotta go against dog breath. I'll be back in a second Sakura-chan." Naruto waved her off. Kiba smirked to himself.

"Easy out, Akamaru. Easy out." He laughed with the dog barking. Naruto shoved his hands in his pockets, standing across from Kida. The judge looked at both of them.

_Dog boy and Fox boy. Great. _He thought. Naruto kept his hands in his pockets and glanced at his opponent. He eyed his dog, who was sitting and wagging his tail. Obviously, Kiba wasn't going to take this seriously. He held his hand out and motioned him to come at him.

"I'll let you have the first move, dog boy." Naruto chuckled. Kiba glared before looking at Akamaru.

"This won't take long, boy. Just let me handle this." He warned. The judge sighed.

"When you're ready, you can begin." He declared. Kiba instantly crouched down and began using a jutsu. Kakashi watched from the stands.

_No jutsu Naruto. I know you've got something up your sleeve. _Kakashi thought. Kiba said the seal mentally in his head, before his claws started getting longer. Chakra pumped throughout his body. Naruto could sense it. Kiba came at him at great speed, but Naruto easily jumped over him. Not expecting that, Kiba simply skidded to a stop and whipped around. Yet Naruto was nowhere to be found. He looked around and glanced at Akamaru, who simply shrugged. Naruto suddenly reappeared behind Akamaru and kicked him hard, sending him to the nearest wall. Getting pissed off, Kiba rushed Naruto. He managed to block or dodge each and every attack with only slight trouble. He once again disappeared from Kiba's sight, which he used the time to get back Akamaru. The dog was limping, but could still fight. The dog jumped on Kiba's back, then made himself a direct copy of him. Naruto reappeared again, this time having needles at the ready. Both Kiba's smirked.

"If you really think you can stop us with those sticks, than you've got another thing comin', kid!" One of them said. Naruto smirked and held three up in between his fingers.

"I'm going to make a bet with you Kiba." Naruto started. Kakashi and Sakura listened closely. "I bet that I can defeat you without using any ninjutsu, and only my taijutsu and senbon. If I win, you have to promise to never threaten or be obnoxious to Hinata ever again!" He said. Hinata blushed in the stands. Kiba thought for a moment before grinning.

"And if you lose than you have to do everything I tell you to! Meaning you would have to do all my chores, take care of akamaru, and have to be nice to me and my clan!" He countered. Naruto flinched at the thought of that, but the thought disappeared when he realized he wouldn't lose.

"Deal." Naruto answered.

"Let's finish this Akamaru!" Kiba yelled as the other barked. Naruto got on all fours, which confused Kiba slightly. He shook it off before both Kida's came at Naruto on all fours. Their speed was incredible, half the ninjas in the stands could keep their eye on him. At the same time, Naruto was also fast. He dodged each attack, being mindful on who Akamaru was and who Kiba was.

"You can't run forever!" One of them yelled at Naruto. Sakura watched.

"I can't tell which Kiba is and which Akamaru is anymore." Sakura said. "Why would Naruto make a deal like that in the middle of a battle?! That's stupid!" Kakashi chuckled.

"Honestly, is it really that shocking when you realize that this is Naruto we're talking about?" He said. Sakura thought for a moment.

"I guess not." Naruto kept dodging all their attacks when Kiba made another clone. The clone came up behind Naruto and kicked him forward. Both Kiba's jumped in the air suddenly and started spinning until they formed two grey tornados.

"Gatsuga!" They exclaimed. They landed a direct hit on Naruto, having him fly into the air. Kiba's clone poofed away and Akamaru and Kiba stood tall. Naruto dropped, but at the last minute he stuck his landing. A small trail of blood ran down his head. Naruto didn't notice until he wiped a hand across his cheek. When he saw the blood he started to shiver. He started to feel blood lust. Kiba laughed loudly.

"You're such a kid! If you can't even hit me once, what makes you think you can beat me?" He laughed. The other Kiba laughed along with him. "You realize that I'm taking this bet seriously right? I mean, why would want to waste time with Hinata? She's so…" He looked up into the stands. "… weird."

Remembering Hinata was watching, the blood lust drained quickly. He gave a weak chuckle. "I'm taking this seriously too. Which is why this match will be one to one soon." Kiba raised a brow at him. That's when Akamaru returned to his normal look.

"What's wrong boy?" He asked his dog in concern. Akamaru was whimpering and fidgeting slightly. Kiba examined him and saw two needles stuck in his fur. "Ah, found it." He suddenly felt a stinging sensation in his shoulder. He winced and looked at his arm, seeing 5 needles stuck in them. He ripped them out and glared at Naruto.

"I'll say it once again. Those needles won't defeat us!" He panted. Akamaru bark and went at him. He went to use the Gatsuga, but Naruto Kicked him away before he could. Kiba stared at his dog. "But he's usually so much faster than that…" He muttered. That confusion turned to anger, and he charged at Naruto. He was suddenly much slower than he was earlier. Naruto countered all his attacks and used all sorts of kicks and punches on him. Kiba couldn't escape, nor did he have the energy to dodge the attacks. With a final elbow to the throat, Kiba was knocked down for good. He looked up at Naruto.

"You lost, dog boy." Naruto grinned. He held three needles between his fingers again. "If you haven't guess it, these are ordinary senbon. They're doused in poison. At the beginning of the match when I jumped over you, I placed three needles into your back. You didn't notice because you were too busy trying to hurt me. When you were making the twin fang tornados, I threw about 10 needles into them. Fortunately for your dog, only two made an actual hit. But a dog is more prone to poison than a ninja is, so it's fine. Then I just sealed the deal with five more needles. So let's see, that's seven poison doused needles in you. I think you need to see a medic, buddy." Naruto explained. Hayate came over and declared Naruto the winner. Despite him looking like he won it with ease, Naruto was really hurting from that last move Kiba did. And even though the blood lust had left, Naruto still was shaking in memory of his own death. In the stands, Shikamaru looked at Kakashi's team.

_So all three of them are going to the finals? Damn, what a drag. And to think I actually thought Naruto was going to lose. Guess not. _He thought.

Kiba was put on the stretcher, and Qkamaru was being carried by a medic. Hinata came down, holding medicine.

"U-um… Kiba…?" She asked shyly. Kiba looked over. "I, uh, brought some… medicine for you and A-Akamaru." She offered. After a small pause, Kida flashed a smile at her.

"Forget about us. Worry about yourself." He chuckled. Hinata's eyes widened.

"H-huh?"

"five are left. The sound ninja, Lee, Neji, Gaara, choji. You need to keep that for yourself." He said before being carried away. Hinata wasn't expecting the kind gesture, so she found herself blushing. Naruto watched and smiled.

"I so deserve some damn ramen after this." Naruto laughed before heading back to the stands. The board scrolled through names again. This time, much to Naruto's dismay, was Hyuuga Neji VS Hyuuga Hinata. Hinata trembled slightly as she saw the name. Naruto glared at the screen. The match was over in less than 15 minutes. Hinata was defeated horribly and cruelly. Neji was left with barely a scratch on his face. He wanted to wipe that smug grin off his face. Finding this unacceptable, he jumped down after the match was over with and visited her. She couldn't really talk right, but she looked happier when Naruto showed up.

"You did great." Naruto said. It wasn't a total lie. Hinata was never a very good ninja to begin with. At least she lasted longer than Ino did. Hinata smiled,

"Th-thanks…" She said before coughing up some more blood, landing a bit on Naruto. Seeing the blood again, he once again started to shake. Hinata saw that and touched his hand. "I-it's okay… I'm here…" Naruto slowly calmed down. Hinata tried to say something else, but she lost consciousness. Naruto called the Jonin over to inspect. After checking her condition they realized that medics were desperately needed. They told them that Hinata's heart was failing. They carried her out quickly to treat her.

"You're her friend, right Uzamaki?" Neji's voice reached his ears. Naruto turned and faced him. "Why didn't you force her to drop the match?"

"As her cousin, shouldn't you be more worried about her health and safety? Oh wait, I forgot, I'm talking to a Hyuuga, probably one of the most stuck up clans in the history of Konoha." Naruto retorted. Taking offense, Neji stepped towards him.

"You don't know what you're talking about. Hinata's been living with the burden of being born under the main branch. She's cursed herself for being weak." Neji said. Naruto scrunched his nose. "People can't change. They all have destinies."

Naruto shook his head. "See, this is why I don't like you. You're such a hypocrite." He went on. Neji stared at him. "I can tell that you are practically tearing yourself apart about the main and side branches of the Hyuuga clan."

"What?!"

"You think that no matter how strong you get or how much you grow, you will always be in service to the main house. You think that your destiny has been predetermined, so you lash out at others about it. Even your own sibling." Naruto explained in a serious voice. Neji pause for a moment before quickly reactivating the Byakugan. He charged at Naruto, but was stopped by Might Gai and kakashi.

"That's enough, Neji. We wouldn't want to get you disqualified, would we?" Kakashi said.

"Neji, get a hold of yourself." Gai ordered. Neji glared at Naruto before heading back up to the stands. Kakashi turned to Naruto.

"Can you go one day without making an enemy?" He asked bluntly. Naruto shrugged.

"Seems to be a reoccurring theme." He replied. When everything was settled. The board went off again. Now it said: Rock Lee VS Gaara. Naruto glanced over to Gaara and noticed him shaking. He sweated.

**So that's gaara, huh?**

_**It seems he trembling… but from what?**_

**Blood lust, perhaps?**

The match was also over quickly. Gaara had nearly killed Lee, smashing his leg with the sand that was in the cork on his back. It shocked Sakura because just before the exam started, Lee defeated Sasuke with ease. And now… he was being rushed away by the medics, with Might Gai following. After watching the brutal match, Naruto had to leave to throw up. Kakashi noticed this.

"How long has he been doing that?" He asked. Sakura looked at him.

"Doing what?"

"Throwing up after seeing gory outcomes."

"Oh." Sakura thought. "Ever since the forest of death."

"That's gotta stop." Kakashi warned. He walked out and saw Naruto finishing. Just as he was about to stand, Kakashi knocked him out. He threw him over his shoulder and decided to take him to the nurses. Outside, Choji had lost pitifully against one of the sound ninjas. The gathered up all the finalist and had them pick a number. They then showed who they were going to be up against. Sakura realized that she was going up against the sound ninja.

"Excuse me." Sakura rose her hand. "What about Naruto and Sasuke?" She asked when she noticed she was the only one on her team that showed up.

"They'll be one and four." Anko told her. The hokage came and explained about the final test. He then declared that they had a full month to train for themselves. After doing that, they were all dismissed.

* * *

**Can you tell that I was rushing this ending? XD I really just wanted to screw over this chapter after I finished Naruto's fight, which was pretty pathetic, I admit. *people throwing stuff at me* HEY! I'm not good with fighting scenes! XC**

**Haha, Ino got her butt kicked. Orochimaru's creepy as heck, and Naruto is just…. Yeah…. *thumbs up*. **

**Reviews are still awesome! Ciao!**


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